AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026
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Volume 37 - No. 32 • 14 Pages
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Trump signs narrower birthright citizenship, DATELINE USA ‘birth tourism’ orders after Supreme Court ruling California Legislature FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
recognizes Filipino American history, honors community leaders Assembly and Senate resolutions mark the October observance as five honorees are recognized at the Capitol
Los Angeles sentencing highlights sham-marriage fraud, document integrity and the need to verify information submitted to immigration authorities by AJPress WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Thursday, Aug. 6, seeking new
restrictions on birthright citizenship and directing federal agencies to intensify enforcement against what the administration calls “birth tourism,” little more than a month after the Supreme Court rejected his broader attempt to deny citizenship to chil-
dren born in the United States to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors. The new citizenship order is narrower than the executive order Trump issued after returning to u PAGE 2
Audit records take focus in Sara Duterte impeachment trial
SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly and Senate adopted separate resolutions Monday recognizing October 2026 as Filipino American History Month, while a Capitol program honored five individuals and organizations for contributions to technology, literature, historical preservation, community service and film. Assemblymember Jessica Caloza presented House Resolution 102, which the Assembly adopted by voice vote after 64 lawmakers joined as coauthors. The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 120, introduced by state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, on a 36-0 vote. Cabaldon introduced the measure June 18, and it was ordered to a third reading June 24. Caloza is the first Filipina elected to the California Legislature. Cabaldon, elected in 2024 after serving for two decades as mayor of West Sacramento, is the first Filipino American to serve in the state Senate. Caloza said the observance carried per-
COA witnesses described documentation gaps involving confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, while defense lawyers challenged the audit conclusions and pressed for closer review of the records. by AJPress
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MANILA — The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte turned this week to the documentary trail behind hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, with state auditors testifying that records submitted by two government offices she headed were insufficient to verify portions of the reported expenditures. Hearings from Aug. 3 through Aug. 5 centered on Article I, which accuses Duterte of impeachable offenses involving the alleged misuse and irregular liquidation of P612.5 million in confidential funds: P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million to the Department of Education while she was u PAGE 5
Federal case underscores risks of fraudulent immigration filings Eala captures Washington title, JPMorganChase chief calls for Los Angeles sentencing highlights sham-marriage fraud, makes Philippine tennis history business-government action as document integrity and the need The 21-year-old’s breakthrough comes during the North bank sets $750 billion housing goal to verify information submitted Breaking barriers and making history—Alex Eala clinches her first WTA title, a proud moment for Philippine tennis. Photo courtesy of WTA Facebook
to immigration authorities
LOS ANGELES – The sentencing of a Los Angeles paralegal in a federal conspiracy case has put renewed focus on fraudulent marriage petitions and visa filings, as federal immigration authorities continue to warn applicants to verify information submitted in their names. u PAGE 3
American hard-court season leading to the US Open by AJPress
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Alexandra “Alex” Eala completed a rain-delayed comeback against top-seeded Jessica Pegula on Monday, Aug. 3, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to become the first player representing the Philippines to capture a WTA Tour singles title.
The victory at the Mubadala DC Open gave Eala her first championship on the main women’s tour and her first at the WTA 500 level, adding another milestone to a season in which she has steadily climbed the international rankings. Eala entered Washington ranked No. 28, then a career high. Her title run further esu PAGE 2
by AJPress MANILA – A formal U.S. request to extradite Apollo Quiboloy has moved into Philippine government review, bringing the detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder closer to a possible court proceeding while separate criminal cases against him continue in the Philippines. The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Aug. 6 that it had received the request and endorsed it to the Department
of Justice. Malacañang said Friday that the DOJ had received extensive records from Washington and would evaluate them, resolving earlier uncertainty over whether the department had formally obtained the documents. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said Washington wants the extradition handled as soon as possible. Any transfer, however, would require compliance with Philippine law and the 1994 u PAGE 5
by AJPress
SAN FRANCISCO – Jamie Dimon called for closer cooperation between business and government on housing, education, public safety and job training Monday, arguing that economic growth should be matched by policies that widen access to opportunity. The JPMorganChase chairManila seeks a reduction from 12.5 percent man and chief executive spoke to 10 percent as Washington reviews a new at Chase Center during the Philippine mechanism for blocking goods opening stop of the bank’s 16th annual bus tour. Asian Journal produced through forced labor was one of the media organiza12.5 percent Section 301 tariff in tions attending “San Francisco: by AJPress effect for covered products, sub- Capital of Opportunity,” where Dimon joined Kevin Delaney, edMANILA — The Philippines is ject to exemptions. The U.S. action did not deter- itor-in-chief of The San Francispressing the United States to reduce a new tariff on covered Phil- mine that Philippine exports were co Standard, for a fireside chat ippine goods from 12.5 percent produced with forced labor. In- on the economy, technology and to 10 percent after Manila estab- stead, USTR found that the Phil- public policy. Noah Wintroub, Global Chair, lished an import-control system ippines had failed to impose and intended to address the concern effectively enforce a prohibition J.P. Morgan, was among the at the center of a U.S. trade inves- on imports entering the Philip- bank’s senior executives at the pines that were produced wholly event. As JPMorganChase’s tigation. top Bay Area executive, WinAs of Aug. 7, the Office of the or partly through forced labor. Washington opened investiga- troub discussed the firm’s reU.S. Trade Representative had not announced a reduction in the Phil- tions into 60 economies in March gional presence and its plans u PAGE 3 to increase housing investment ippine rate, leaving the additional
U.S. extradition bid for Philippines presses U.S. for lower tariff Quiboloy moves to DOJ review after tightening forced-labor import rules Formal request advances as Philippine courts continue separate cases against the detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder
Jamie Dimon outlines policy priorities on housing, artificial intelligence and workforce development during a San Francisco forum
through the American Dream Initiative. He said additional private capital could support housing production if accompanied by public policies that reduce development barriers and expand supply. The tour brings Dimon and other senior executives to branches, operations centers and local events across the country to meet employees, customers, business owners, public officials and community organizations. It also allows the bank to review regional operations and assess where it could expand services or direct capital. This year’s discussions parallel the six focus areas of the JPMorganChase American Dream Initiative: business growth and entrepreneurship; housing access and affordability; financial health and wealth creation; careers and skills; health care; and support for local institutions such as schools, hospitals, nonprofit organizations and local governments. Dimon described what econou PAGE 2
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AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • ASIAN JOURNAL
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From the Front Page
Eala captures Washington title...
PAGE 1 tablished the 21-year-old as a regular competitor against some of the highest-ranked players in women’s tennis. The final began Sunday after an extended weather delay but was suspended with Pegula leading 6-4 and Eala ahead 2-1 in the second set. When play resumed Monday at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Pegula moved ahead 4-3
LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) INVITATION FOR BID LACMTA will receive bids for OP140983 - Underground Storage Tank & Aboveground Storage Tank ServicesAll Bids shall be submitted electronically via email to bids@metro.net. A Pre-Bid conference will be held on Monday, August 10, 2026, 10:00 a.m., at Virtual Meeting: Online. This project is a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Set-Aside contract. To participate in this IFB, bidders must be SBE certified with LACMTA prior to proposal due date. For information on the Set-Aside program, visit: https://business.metro.net/ webcenter/portal/VendorPortal/ pages_home/smallbusinesstools/ smallbusinessprimeprogram All Bids must be submitted on forms furnished by LACMTA, and must submitted electronically at via email to bids@metro.net on or before 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, September 4, 2026, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the bidder unopened. Each bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. OP140983. For a copy of the Proposal/Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https://business.metro.net or for further information email Tina Hoffstetter at hoffstettert@metro. net. 8/8/26 CNS-4064757# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
in the second set. Eala responded by taking the final three games of the set and then sweeping the decider. She broke Pegula in each of the American’s three service games in the third set and completed the 6-0 finish without dropping a game. The match lasted one hour and 45 minutes of playing time, excluding the overnight suspension. The championship capped a five-match run through a Washington field that included an Olympic gold medalist, the defending tournament champion and several of the most accomplished players on the women’s tour. Eala opened with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over China’s Zheng Qinwen, the 2024 Olympic singles champion. She followed with a 6-2, 7-6 (1) victory over defending Washington champion Leylah Fernandez before defeating second-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Eala beat third-seeded Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion. That set up the final against Pegula, Washington’s No. 1 seed and the world No. 3 entering the tournament. Eala’s victory also reversed the result of the players’ previous meeting. Pegula defeated her 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 in the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open, where Eala made her first deep run at a WTA 1000 tournament. Pegula won her first WTA singles championship in Washington in 2019 and entered this year’s final seeking her 12th career title. Washington marked Eala’s second appearance in a main-tour championship match. She reached the Eastbourne final in 2025 but lost to Australia’s Maya Joint in a deciding-set tiebreak after holding four championship points. Eala had also won WTA 125 tournaments in Guadalajara in 2025 and Birmingham in June 2026. Those events are classified separately from the main WTA Tour. Washington therefore became Eala’s first tour-level championship and the first WTA Tour singles title won by a player representing the Philippines. Road to the U.S. Open The Washington championship came during the North American hard-court swing, the stretch of
Photo from Instagram/ @alex.eala
tournaments leading to the U.S. Open in New York. Among the principal events on that calendar are the National Bank Open in Canada and the Cincinnati Open in Ohio. Both are WTA 1000 tournaments, the highest category on the regular women’s tour and a level above the WTA 500 tournament Eala won in Washington. WTA 1000 events typically draw many of the world’s leading players and offer more ranking points than WTA 500 tournaments. They also provide important hard-court competition ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam. The tournaments are played on outdoor hard courts, the same general surface used at the US Open, although court speed, weather and other conditions vary from event to event. Cincinnati is the final major WTA 1000 stop before the tour shifts to New York. Eala is also among the direct entrants in the US Open women’s singles field. The main draw begins Aug. 30 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. New York already occupies an important place in Eala’s career. She won the U.S. Open junior girls’ singles championship in 2022, becoming the first Filipina to win a junior Grand Slam singles title. Three years later, Eala defeated Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the opening round of the 2025 U.S. Open, becoming the first player representing the Philippines to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match. She approaches this year’s U.S. Open season with another distinction already secured: the first player representing the Philippines to win a singles championship on the WTA Tour. n
Trump signs narrower birthright... PAGE 1 office in January 2025. It does not seek generally to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children simply because their parents are undocumented or temporarily in the country. Instead, the order directs federal agencies not to recognize citizenship when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and at least one of several additional conditions applies. The categories include certain people designated as “alien enemies,” specified foreign-government and international-organization employees, and parents the administration says used fraud or certain commercial arrangements to obtain birthright citizenship. The order also addresses some arrangements involving a mother or surrogate giving birth in the United States. Whether all of the categories identified by the administration fall outside the Constitution’s citizenship guarantee has not been resolved by the Supreme Court, leaving parts of the order open to further legal challenge. The legal backdrop is the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in Trump v. Barbara. The court rejected Trump’s earlier citizenship order by a 6-3 judgment. A five-justice majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, concluded that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are subject to U.S. jurisdiction and therefore citizens at birth
under the 14th Amendment. Justice Brett Kavanaugh supplied the sixth vote against the earlier order on separate statutory grounds, concluding that it conflicted with federal citizenship law. Trump’s new order seeks to build on narrower exceptions the administration says remain permissible. Historically recognized exceptions have included children of accredited foreign diplomats and children born to enemy forces during hostile occupation. The president directed the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, along with the Social Security Administration and other federal agencies, to align their policies with the new order and issue implementation guidance within 30 days. A second executive order, titled “Ending Birth Tourism,” focuses on foreign nationals entering the United States on nonimmigrant visas primarily to give birth and on people or organizations that facilitate such travel. The order authorizes the State and Homeland Security departments to strengthen enforcement under existing immigration law. Measures may include denying or revoking visas or travel authorizations, refusing admission, pursuing removal and, where legally authorized, restricting future entry. Humanitarian and national-interest exceptions are permitted. The order does not itself create a new criminal offense.
Federal restrictions on birth tourism are not new. Since 2020, State Department regulations have directed consular officers to deny visitor visas when they have reason to believe an applicant’s primary purpose is traveling to the United States to give birth so the child can obtain U.S. citizenship. Pregnancy alone, however, does not make an applicant ineligible for a visitor visa. State Department guidance also allows legitimate travel for medical treatment and instructs consular officers not to routinely ask female applicants whether they are pregnant. Federal prosecutors have previously brought criminal cases against organized birth-tourism businesses when the conduct involved offenses such as visa fraud, conspiracy or money laundering. For Philippine nationals and other foreign visitors, the new orders do not establish nationality-specific restrictions. Their practical impact will depend on the implementation rules issued by federal agencies. The central legal issue remains unsettled: the Supreme Court has already rejected a broad effort to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children based solely on their parents’ unlawful or temporary immigration status. The new orders now test how far the executive branch may go in defining narrower exceptions. (AJPress)
JPMorganChase chief calls for... PAGE 1 mists call a K-shaped economy, in which different groups move in opposite directions. Higher-income households, investors and growing industries may continue to gain wealth and opportunity, while lower-income families and struggling businesses face rising costs, stagnant wages or fewer jobs. He attributed much of that divide to weaknesses in housing, education and workforce policy under both major political parties, while saying companies could contribute financing, expertise and partnerships. “You don’t fix problems when you deny them,” Dimon said. He listed lower crime, better schools and more housing as priorities. Housing occupied much of the discussion and provided the policy context for JPMorganChase’s announcement that it intends to deploy more than $750 billion in housing capital through 2035. Dimon said high-cost cities need more housing to retain teachers, nurses and other workers. He characterized affordability primarily as a supply problem and argued that governments should reduce barriers to construction. JPMorganChase said it will support faster permitting, updated zoning and building codes, expanded tax incentives and public-private partnerships. The bank will also chair the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Housing Advisory Council. The bank aims to help finance the construction or preservation of 1 million affordable housing units and assist 500,000 customers in purchasing homes, including 200,000 first-time buyers. It also plans to increase mortgage lending by more than 40 percent
LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) INVITATION FOR BID
and hire 850 home-lending advisers. The $750 billion is a capital-deployment target, not a charitable fund or pool of direct payments. JPMorganChase said it includes mortgages, construction and development loans, equity investments and grants. The bank defines units counted toward the target as serving households earning less than 120 percent of area median income. The goals remain subject to interest rates, construction costs, market demand and government approvals. The broader initiative also seeks to support 10 million small businesses and provide nearly $80 billion in small-business lending over 10 years. Delaney also questioned Dimon about artificial intelligence and concerns that its expansion could displace workers and widen inequality. Dimon said some AI investments would probably lose value as the market develops, but rejected the view that the technology itself is merely speculative. He called for shorter certification programs through community colleges to prepare workers for fields such as cybersecurity and construction, and said AI requires appropriately designed regulation. Dimon also criticized a proposed California wealth tax, saying it could discourage investment and prompt wealthy residents to leave the state. His comments represented one side of an active policy debate. Several Bay Area announcements illustrated how the national program could be applied locally. JPMorganChase is providing nearly $200 million in financing for a 342-unit residential building at the Power Station
redevelopment in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. It is also considering an equity investment of up to $15 million in Fifth Space’s Essential Housing Fund and announced $6 million in grants to California housing organizations. Dimon praised San Fracisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s leadership, saying the mayor was “doing all the right stuff” and that San Francisco had “definitely turned” from the conditions that followed the pandemic. He presented the city’s recent progress as an example of what focused, competent leadership can accomplish when public officials establish priorities and act on them. Dimon cited falling crime, improved street conditions and efforts to permit more housing, while acknowledging that affordability and economic inequality remain significant challenges. Near the end of the conversation, Delaney asked Dimon about recurring speculation that he could seek the presidency and about his plans after JPMorganChase. Dimon said he was not preparing a presidential campaign and indicated that family considerations and his current responsibilities made a run unlikely. He said he was more interested in potentially establishing a policy-focused media or educational organization that could research and promote proposals on education, homelessness, taxation and other national issues. He did not announce plans to buy an existing media company or provide details about the ownership, funding or timing of such an organization. The forum linked JPMorganChase’s financial commitments to Dimon’s broader argument that private capital, government policy and workforce preparation should operate together. n
LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN LOS ANGELES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY (LACMTA) TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) LACMTA will receive Bids/ REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Proposals for DR141429 LACMTA will receive INVITATION FOR BID Purchase of Four (4) Stake- Proposals for RFP No. OP143067 bed Trucksat the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/ Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. A Pre-Bid conference will not be held. All Bids must be submitted to LACMTA, and be filed at the reception desk, 9th floor, V/CM Department, on or before 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, September 14, 2026, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each Bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. DR141429. For a copy of the Proposal/Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https://business.metro.net or for further information email Mark Lu at LUM@metro.net. 8/8/26 CNS-4067047# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
- Train Control Infrastructure Predictive Analytics System. All Proposals must be submitted to LACMTA, electronically via email to bids@ metro.net on or before 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday, September 21, 2026. Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. A Virtual Pre-Proposal Conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Friday, August 14, 2026. You may obtain a copy of the Proposal specification and be placed on the official plan holders list by downloading the documents at LACMTA's Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https://business.metro. net, or you may obtain further information, by contacting Ani Pogossian at pogossiana@metro. net. 8/8/26 CNS-4064431# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
LACMTA will receive Bids/ Proposals for DR132292(3) Three (3) 1.5 Ton Utility Trucks. All bids shall be submitted electronically via email to bids@ metro.net. No Pre-Bid Conference. All Bids must be submitted to LACMTA, electronically at bids@ metro.net, on or before 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, September 4, 2026, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each Bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. DR132292(3). For a copy of the Proposal/Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https://business.metro.net or for further information email Tina Hoffstetter at hoffstettert@metro. net. 8/8/26 CNS-4065737# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
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From the Front Page
ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026
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Federal case underscores risks of fraudulent... Philippines presses U.S. for lower tariff after... PAGE 1 U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. on Aug. 3 sentenced Maria De Leon, 77, to time already served after her 2022 guilty plea to a federal conspiracy count. De Leon admitted in her plea agreement that for about eight years she participated with administrators of the Philippines-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ in marriage and visa fraud. The Justice Department said De Leon acknowledged preparing immigration paperwork that she knew was based on false representations about whether marriages involving certain church members were genuine. She also admitted submitting fraudulent Petitions for Alien Relative, or Form I-130, and related documents while knowing or believing the marriages had been arranged to obtain favorable immigration status. Count 7 of the 2021 superseding indictment alleged a conspiracy with multiple objects, including forced labor, document servitude, marriage and visa fraud, money laundering and related offenses. Separate sex-trafficking counts named church
founder Apollo Quiboloy and certain other defendants, but not De Leon. That distinction is significant. De Leon pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count, but the Justice Department’s account of her plea identifies her admitted conduct as marriage and visa fraud. The separate sex-trafficking charges against Quiboloy and other defendants remain allegations and have not been proved in U.S. court. Federal prosecutors sought leniency for De Leon before sentencing, citing what they described as substantial cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of other defendants. Court filings reported before sentencing said the government argued for an advisory sentencing range of zero to six months and requested time served. The court ultimately imposed time served. The case also underscores the distinction between document preparation and legal advice. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says people may receive help completing forms from relatives, friends or document preparers, but immigration legal
advice may be provided only by attorneys or representatives accredited by the Justice Department. USCIS advises applicants not to sign blank forms or documents containing false information, to review filings carefully and to retain copies. The broader federal case remains active. The FBI continues to list Quiboloy as wanted on human-trafficking-related and other federal charges. He has denied wrongdoing. The unresolved U.S. charges remain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. In a separate development this week, Philippine officials confirmed that the U.S. State Department formally requested Quiboloy’s extradition and that the request was transmitted to the Philippine Department of Justice for review. Extradition is not automatic and requires further legal proceedings in the Philippines. The FBI has led the U.S. investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, USCIS, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and IRS Criminal Investigation. (AJPress)
PAGE 1 and announced its final tariff action July 23. Seventeen economies received a 10 percent rate because they had imposed qualifying forced-labor import prohibitions, made relevant commitments under trade arrangements with the United States or established partial systems restricting such goods. Other investigated economies, including the Philippines, were assigned a 12.5 percent rate. The U.S. framework also allows countries to move into the lower-rate group after taking additional action. Cambodia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago adopted forced-labor import prohibitions after USTR's initial findings and received the 10 percent rate. Jordan also qualified after making a related trade commitment. The Philippine government is seeking similar consideration. On July 23, the departments of Trade and Industry, Finance, and Labor and Employment signed a joint administrative order establishing procedures for investigating and prohibiting imports produced wholly or partly through
forced labor. The order created an interagency committee led by the Department of Trade and Industry, with representatives from the labor and finance departments, Bureau of Customs, Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority. The committee may investigate complaints or information involving suspected forced-labor imports and recommend appropriate action. The Bureau of Customs is responsible for implementing measures against goods determined to fall within the prohibition. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said Philippine officials were continuing discussions with USTR and had been informed that the U.S. assessment would continue. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez has said Manila will seek to lower the tariff to at least 10 percent. Malacañang maintains that Philippine law prohibits forced labor, while the Department of Foreign Affairs has said Philippine exports to the United States do not rely on forced labor. Those
assertions concern domestic labor practices, however, while the specific USTR finding focused on whether the Philippines had an enforceable system to prevent foreign goods made with forced labor from entering its market. The July 23 order was designed to address that distinction. A preliminary Department of Trade and Industry assessment estimated that about 34.28 percent of Philippine exports to the United States, worth approximately $6.25 billion, could be subject to the additional tariff. Categories identified as exposed include leather and travel goods, apparel, footwear and toys. Their inclusion reflects the tariff classifications covered by the U.S. action and is not a finding that Philippine companies in those sectors use forced labor. U.S. goods imports from the Philippines totaled $17.8 billion in 2025, while U.S. exports to the Philippines reached $9.1 billion, according to USTR. The negotiations also have a regional competitive dimension. Indonesia and Malaysia are among the economies assigned the 10
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AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • ASIAN JOURNAL
http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 937-9981 • (818) 937-9982 • (213) 250-9797
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U.S. extradition bid for Quiboloy... Philippines presses U.S. for lower tariff after... PAGE 1 Philippines-U.S. Extradition Treaty. Under Supreme Court rules that took effect in November 2025, an extradition case begins when the justice secretary or authorized state counsel files a verified petition before the proper court. The proceeding does not determine guilt. The court decides whether treaty and legal requirements are satisfied and whether a prima facie case supports extradition. Quiboloy’s Philippine cases could affect the timing of any surrender. He has pleaded not guilty to a qualified human trafficking charge in Pasig and faces separate child abuse-related charges in Quezon City. The treaty allows surrender to be postponed while local proceedings continue, but also provides for temporary surrender under court-approved conditions.
Defense lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said Quiboloy’s legal team had not received a summons or formal court notice and would contest extradition once a petition is filed. Washington seeks Quiboloy in connection with a 42-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in California in November 2021. The indictment names nine defendants and alleges schemes involving sex trafficking, forced labor and labor trafficking, immigration and marriage fraud, money laundering and other offenses connected to Kingdom of Jesus Christ operations in the United States. Federal prosecutors allege that girls and young women recruited as personal assistants were coerced into sexual activity through threats of abuse and spiritual punishment. They also allege that church members were brought
to the United States using fraudulently obtained visas and compelled to solicit donations. The allegations have not been proved at trial. Quiboloy has denied wrongdoing and is presumed innocent unless convicted. The FBI has placed Quiboloy on its human trafficking wanted list in connection with the U.S. charges. Quiboloy was taken into government custody in September 2024 after an extended police operation at the church compound in Davao City. His longstanding relationship with former President Rodrigo Duterte adds political sensitivity to the case, but the immediate decisions rest with the Justice Department and Philippine courts. No extradition petition, court order or timetable for surrender had been publicly announced as of press time. n
California Legislature recognizes Filipino... PAGE 1 sonal meaning as the daughter of Filipino immigrants. Her parents, Gigi and Jesse Caloza, joined her on the Assembly floor. The resolutions trace Filipino American history in California to Oct. 18, 1587, when Filipino members of a Spanish galleon expedition came ashore near present-day Morro Bay, marking the first recorded Filipino presence in what is now the continental United States. Caloza also cited Filipino American contributions to agriculture, health care, education, the military, business, public service, sports and the arts. Her remarks highlighted labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, who helped organize more than 1,500 workers during the 1965 Delano grape strike. The Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee later joined with the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, helping form the United Farm Workers. She also recalled the struggle to save San Francisco’s International Hotel, where mostly elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants resisted eviction for nearly a decade. Police removed the remaining tenants on Aug. 4, 1977, after breaking through a large barricade of supporters. Caloza further recognized the Third World Liberation Front movements. The 1968-69 strike at San Francisco State led to the nation’s first College of Ethnic Studies, while a related campaign at the University of California, Berkeley, helped establish its Department of Ethnic Studies. The Capitol observance included “Champions of Change” recognitions for technology entrepreneur Diosdado “Dado” Banatao, honored posthumously; Los Angeles community advocate Joselyn Geaga-Rosenthal; International Hotel activist Emil A. De Guzman; the nonprofit SoCal Filipinos; and the Manila International Film Festival. The honorees were not named in the texts of HR 102 or SR 120 but were recognized during the ac-
companying program. Banatao, who died in December 2025 at 79, was an engineer, semiconductor entrepreneur and investor credited by Berkeley Engineering with developing the personal-computer chipset and graphics-acceleration architecture. He also supported engineering education and scientific research. His wife, Maria Banatao, attended the ceremony. Geaga-Rosenthal has held leadership roles with the Friends of the Echo Park Library and supported programs connected to the Philippine Heritage Collection and Carlos Bulosan Book Club. The collection preserves books and materials on Philippine and Filipino American history and culture, while the book club promotes Filipino American literature. De Guzman served as president of the International Hotel Tenants Association during the campaign against the tenants’ eviction. He later worked through the Manilatown Heritage Foundation to preserve the history of the I-Hotel struggle and the cultural legacy of the neighborhood. Founded in June 2020, SoCal Filipinos grew from an online network into a nonprofit serving Filipino communities across Southern California. Its activities include cultural programs, support for emerging businesses and scholarships. Founder Jason Lustina represented the organization at the Capitol. The Manila International Film Festival promotes Philippine cinema in Hollywood through screenings, filmmaker discussions and industry events. Its third annual edition is scheduled for Sept. 3 to 6 at the TCL Chinese Theatre, followed by an awards gala at the Beverly Hilton. Caloza also cited contemporary Filipino and Filipino American figures, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Cabinet Secretary Nani Coloretti, performer Lea Salonga and tennis player Alex Eala. “Filipino American history is California’s history,” Caloza said. “It is America’s history.” (AJPress)
Notice of Public Hearing and Notice Availability (NOA) of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Interstate 405 (I-405) from Wilmington Avenue to Main Street Improvements Project
PAGE 3 percent rate, leaving covered Philippine goods with a 2.5-percentage-point higher Section 301 tariff than comparable covered imports
from those countries. Whether Manila can narrow that gap now depends on Washington's assessment of the new Philippine import-control system
and its enforcement. Until USTR formally modifies the action, the additional 12.5 percent tariff remains in effect for covered Philippine goods. n
Audit records take focus in Sara Duterte... PAGE 1 education secretary. Duterte has denied wrongdoing. Her defense maintains that audit observations and questions over supporting documents do not, by themselves, establish misuse of public funds or an impeachable offense. Former Commission on Audit official Roderick Wamil, who served in COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, testified that the OVP’s physical and financial plan for its P125 million confidential-fund allocation in December 2022 did not identify the specific confidential activities for which the money would be used. Wamil said liquidation records included acknowledgment receipts rather than sales invoices or official receipts for some reported purchases. Among the listed expenditures were P500,000 for tables and chairs and P3 million for computers, printers and related equipment. He testified that the submitted records did not explain how the purchases were connected to confidential operations. The audit requirements at issue are contained in Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which governs the release, use, reporting and audit of confidential and intelligence funds. The defense declined to stipulate that the entire P125 million had been spent within 11 days in December 2022. Defense lawyer Michael Poa said there was an explanation for the timing and that the issue should be examined through testimony and supporting documents. The defense also acknowledged that the allocation had been released with presidential approval. That concession concerned authorization for the release, not whether subsequent expenditures complied with audit requirements. Wamil testified that at least P129 million from P250 million in OVP confidential funds during the first two quarters of 2023 lacked documentation he considered sufficient to verify the reported disbursements. He also said supporting records
were inadequate for the P112.5 million in confidential funds released to the Education Department in three quarterly tranches in 2023. Reported expenditures included food, medicine, rewards and incentives related to confidential operations. Wamil said accomplishment reports did not contain attachments auditors needed to confirm that the listed transactions occurred as reported. He further testified that representatives of the OVP and Education Department sought relief in September 2023 from portions of the joint circular. The defense disputed the prosecution’s characterization of that request and emphasized that the offices submitted liquidation reports and responded to audit inquiries. During cross-examination, the defense introduced a 2014 Department of Budget and Management document showing confidential funds had also been released to the OVP when Jejomar Binay was vice president. The document undercut any broader suggestion that Duterte was the first vice president whose office received confidential funds. Wamil’s testimony was more narrowly limited to the OVP and Education Department confidential funds he personally audited. On Aug. 5, senator-judges questioned Wamil about names or operational identities appearing on acknowledgment receipts, including “Mary Grace Piattos.” The impeachment court has not ruled that the name was fictitious, that a listed recipient did not exist or that any particular receipt was fabricated. Wamil also discussed a COA notice disallowing approximately P73 million from the OVP’s 2022 confidential-fund expenditures because of insufficient documentation. A notice of disallowance is an administrative audit action and does not constitute a criminal conviction or, by itself, an impeachment finding. The court directed prosecutors and defense lawyers to compare 845 acknowledgment receipts connected to the P125 million allocation. The exercise is intended
to determine whether both sides possess matching copies and does not establish the authenticity, accuracy or evidentiary weight of the documents. COA supervising auditor Xylene Mae Del Campo then began testifying as the prosecution’s second witness under Article I. Her testimony is expected to continue when proceedings resume. The court also allowed a portion of an affidavit by retired police officer Arturo Lascañas to be marked as a prosecution exhibit over a defense objection. Presiding Officer Francis Escudero emphasized that marking a document does not mean it has been admitted into evidence or accepted as true. Similarly, the court took judicial notice of the existence and official character of specified House hearings and records without treating their substantive contents as proven facts. Separately, the Supreme Court on Aug. 5 dismissed consolidated petitions challenging the House impeachment proceedings, ruling that the cases had become moot because the House had already approved and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment and the Senate trial was underway. The ruling did not determine whether the allegations against Duterte were true or whether she was liable under any article of impeachment. The impeachment court has also received tax and financial records involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, in connection with other allegations in the case. Those records have not been adjudicated and do not by themselves establish wrongdoing. As the trial moves into its next phase, the prosecution remains in its presentation of evidence. Duterte’s defense has not begun its full evidentiary case, and the Senate impeachment court has reached no verdict on Article I or any other article of impeachment. The testimony, documents and competing interpretations presented so far remain subject to examination by both sides and evaluation by the senator-judges. n
WHY THIS NOTICE? The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the draft document, to provide the public an opportunity to comment, and to notify the public of in-person public hearings/meetings. Caltrans has studied the effects this Project may have on the environment. Our studies show it will not significantly affect the quality of the environment with mitigation incorporated. The results of these studies are summarized in an environmental document known as a Draft Environmental Report (EIR)/ Environmental Assessment (EA). The Draft EIR/EA is available on the Project website https://www.metro.net/projects/i-405-wilmington/. Printed copies of the draft environmental document are available at the following locations during normal business hours: •
Caltrans District 7 Office: 100 South Main Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012
•
Carson Library: 151 East Carson Street, Carson, CA 90745
•
LA Metro Headquarters: 1 Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles CA, 90012
HOW TO GET INVOLVED? Two in-person public hearings will be held to provide you an opportunity to obtain first-hand Project information and to express your comments and concerns about the proposed Project. Spanish and Tagalog language translation services will be available at the public hearings: August 20 and 25, 2026 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Carson Event Center, 801 East Carson Street, Carson, CA 90745 We invite you to comment on the draft environmental document by sending an email to wilmington@metro.net or submitting a comment through the Project website https://www.metro.net/projects/i-405-wilmington/. You may also submit a comment via postal mail to: California Department of Transportation, District 7 Division of Environmental Planning Attn: Rocky Rojas, Environmental Scientist 100 South Main Street, MS 16A Los Angeles, CA 90012 All comments received will become part of the Project record and will provide valuable input to our environmental and design personnel. All comments must be postmarked by September 21, 2026. WHAT IS BEING PLANNED? The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, proposes improvements to Interstate 405 (I-405) in the City of Carson, between Wilmington Avenue (postmiles [PM] 9.6) and Main Street (PM 12.6). The purpose of I-405 Wilmington Avenue to Main Street Improvements Project (Project) is to provide improved connectivity and increase multimodal access within the Project corridor and to accommodate the planned economic development within the Project Study Area. The need of the proposed Project is to improve traffic operations and safety for vehicle traffic and to provide additional access and connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists at local interchanges throughout the Project corridor.
CONTACT If you have any questions, please contact Rocky Rojas, Environmental Scientist of the Division of Environmental Planning, at (213) 266-3772, or rocky.rojas@dot.ca.gov. SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS Individuals who require special accommodation (American Sign Language interpreter, accessible seating, documentation in alternate formats, etc.) are requested to contact Caltrans District 7, Rocky Rojas at (213) 266-3772 at least 7 days prior to the scheduled public hearings. TDD users may contact the California Relay Service 1 (800) 735-2929 (TTY to Voice), 1 (800) 735-2922 (Voice to TTY), 1 (800) 855-3000 (Spanish TTY to Voice and Voice to TTY), 1-800-854-7784 (Spanish and English Speech-to-Speech) or 711. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!
6
Opinion
Features
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • ASIAN JOURNAL
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The AI boom is global. So is its bill The United States and the Philippines occupy different positions in the AI economy, but both must ensure that its gains are not built on unstable power systems, displaced workers and costs transferred to the public. ARTIFICIAL intelligence is often presented as a competition among companies and nations. It is also a global reallocation of electricity, capital, skills and economic power. The systems may appear weightless on a screen, but they depend on data centers, power plants, transmission lines, semiconductor supply chains and human labor spread across continents. The United States and the Philippines illustrate how closely connected this transformation has become. The United States is a leading source of AI investment, advanced chips, cloud infrastructure and large computing models. The Philippines is a major services economy, a supplier of skilled English-speaking labor and an emerging destination for digital infrastructure. Decisions made by American companies can reshape Philippine employment, while growing data-center demand in both countries can affect electricity reliability and consumer costs. The potential benefits are substantial. AI can accelerate scientific research, support medical analysis, strengthen disaster forecasting, improve public services and help businesses perform routine work more efficiently. Utilities can use it to forecast demand, detect equipment failures and integrate renewable energy. Smaller organizations may gain
capabilities that once required large technical teams. These gains justify investment, but not a blank check. The central question is whether the benefits will be broadly shared and whether those profiting most will pay the full cost of the infrastructure and workforce changes they require. That cost begins with electricity. The International Energy Agency projects global data-center power consumption to rise from about 485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to roughly 950 terawatt-hours by 2030. AI-focused facilities are expected to grow faster than the data-center sector as a whole. A single large facility can require hundreds of megawatts of continuous power and can be completed much faster than new generating plants, transmission lines and substations. In the United States, federal researchers estimate that data centers could account for about 11.8 per-
Editorial
ManilaTimes.net photo
cent of national electricity use by the end of the decade under a central scenario, with estimates ranging from 9.5 percent to 15.3 percent. North American reliability planners say AI and digital-economy data centers account for most of the projected increase in peak electricity demand during the coming decade. Data centers do not automatically make electricity less reliable or more expensive. Large customers can finance new generation, support grid investment
The Long A constituency of resentment View public lives Randy David
WE often hear educated Filipinos blame the kind of government we have on the kind of public officials that the “bobotantes” choose during elections. The derisive term is a clever blending of two words: “bobo,” meaning stupid, and “botante,” meaning voter. It is applied to voters whose electoral choices are presumably uninformed by any understanding of the functions of public office, or of the qualifications of the candidates they vote for. The clear implication is that such voters are irrational. To the extent that the term points to the existence of a sizable premodern voter formation that decides political outcomes, I believe it is quite accurate. That was the point I made in last week’s column, where I tried to interpret the latest Pulse Asia findings on presidential preferences for 2028. But its use as a pejorative also betrays an elitist and simplistic understanding of Philippine society and politics. The “bobotante” way of voting has its own rationality. It is rooted in a worldview that sees government as a predatory institution that exists mainly to serve the interests of the rich and powerful. Conven-
VIRTUAL REALITY Tony Lopez
FERDINAND R. Marcos Jr.’s presidency has been an odyssey, one that rivals the adventures, misadventures, exploits, conquests and triumphs of any warrior king in the fantasyland called the Philippines, or anywhere else. As a country, the Philippines is an Olympus in its own right. With 117 million people, it is the 12th largest consumer market on earth. As an economy, it is valued at $512 billion in nominal GDP dollars, and easily $1.7 trillion in purchasing power parity 2024 dollars. The Philippines is the 30th largest economy on earth, out of more than 200 countries, far bigger (richer) than Colombia, South Africa, Singapore, UAE, Kazakhstan, Switzerland (the original home of unexplained wealth), Romania, Algeria, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Chile, Ukraine (which is about to beat Russia), Austria and 150 other countries.
tional politicians, according to this view, are uniformly corrupt. They operate mainly to raid the public coffers and plunder the nation’s resources, the better to enrich themselves and their patrons. Their notion of public service is to deliver the occasional “ayuda” during disasters and emergencies. But what they hand out as assistance they recover in taxes and the high price of necessities. Instead of building an economy that provides stable jobs and secure incomes, they let people fend for themselves in the informal sector or in the overseas employment market. There is nothing ignorant about this view of government. It thrives in highly unequal societies like ours, where the levers of government are captured by the oligarchy. But instead of giving rise to a constituency of reform, what it breeds is a constituency of resentment, which particular kinds of politicians, like the Dutertes, are able to tap. In July 2011, Sara Duterte, then mayor of Davao, walked into the middle of an ongoing demolition of squatter shanties, and punched a court sheriff in the face. I watched the footage several times, and wrote here that for all the criminal liability to which she exposed herself, “from hereon, it will be difficult to defeat her in any election for any public position in Davao,” that “her feistiness and
readiness to stake her personal authority on behalf of the poor will become part of political legend,” and that “this is how folk heroes in a pre-modern society are made.” (Public Lives, 7/3/11) Where society is deeply unequal, I wrote then, “the rule of law cannot be impartial. Its blind implementation will always appear harsh. Thus, instead of serving the ends of justice, law is perceived as one more tool of oppression. This uneven landscape creates ample room for the intervention of heroic equalizers.” The mauling of a sheriff by a lady mayor, in that landscape, is perceived not as an assault on a person of authority, but as the credential of a folk hero. That legend traveled swiftly from the remote city of Davao to the national stage. Eleven years later, Sara Duterte was elected vice president in the 2022 elections as the running mate of Bongbong Marcos in the short-lived “UniTeam” alliance, drawing one of the largest vote totals in our electoral history. Her father, Rodrigo, later claimed that she could have won the presidency itself had she not agreed to step down and give way to Marcos. More recently, Pulse Asia measured her chances should she run in 2028. They stand at 49 percent of the country, the bulk of it from Mindanao, then the Visayas, u PAGE 8
BBM’s odyssey In land area (300,000 square kilometers), the Philippines is the world’s fifth largest island nation. Its coastline of 36,289 kms is the fifth longest in the world, 50 percent longer than MAGA’s 19,000 kms which is guarded by 11 100,000-ton aircraft carriers, the world’s largest. In typical Ilocano fashion, our coastline is guarded by just one 3,200-ton BRP Miguel Malvar, a missile-guided corvette. As an archipelago of 7,607 islands, the Philippines is the second largest in Asia (after Indonesia) and seventh, globally, in number of islands. As a landmass, it is bigger than many countries in Europe, bigger than the United Kingdom, South Korea, New Zealand and yes, bigger than Greece (which has only 132,000 sq kms), the home of the Olympus and the Greek gods led by Zeus. Warrior-king Odysseus Marcos has been wanting to return to the kingdom called the Philippines which his father ruled for 20 years, restore its magic, its wonder and its greatness so that the Middle Kingdom will stop maligning it (“We will not waiver,” Marcos Jr.
vowed) and even attempt to conquer it (“We will not yield,” the President declared). In serving his presidency, BBM has encountered all kinds of enemies and challenges, the political and economic equivalent of mythical monsters, cyclops, cannibals and sirens. The flood control syndicate embedded in the kingdom called House of Representatives is composed of cyclops of corruption, with a single eye focused on barrels and bags of money, money, money. “From whom are you stealing the money?” the ombudsman asks. Their answer: nobody, nobody, nobody! There are witches too. Impakta, to use Imee Marcos’s lingua franca. They are dressed in seemingly recycled dresses and sport seemingly recycled bags. Their favorite color is black, to disguise their penchant for blue – the color of the highest denomination peso money. The impaktas also like another color – green, the color of envy. Of course, we have our very u PAGE 8
Manuel L. Quezon III IGNORED in the debate over Pax Silica is that it is the latest scheme hoping to find purpose and value for competing plans that have repeatedly failed to take off: turning the former Clark Air Base into something economically viable for the country. The competing plans have been either to turn the former base into a thriving industrial or commercial facility or into the next capital of the Philippines. Stephen CuUnjieng once patiently tried to explain to me how Singapore used the former British naval base as the source for what grew into its sovereign wealth fund (a fascinating lesson in combining national vision with sustained execution), but needless to say, native racketeering has always defeated the possibility of something similar happening on our end. Two administrations, those of former Presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III, converged on this attempt: Arroyo’s by developing plans or infrastructure necessary to turn the special economic zone and freeport in Clark into a viable prospect, and Aquino’s by introducing
GOTCHA
Jarius Bondoc MERE slight rains flood up our communities and highways. Employees and students can’t get to work and school. Homes and shops are muddied. Roads disintegrate. Rivers rise, bridges collapse. Traffic jams. Tap water turns murky. Electricity conks out, and with it cellular service too. Feigning concern, officials suspend school and government work. They publicize themselves leading rescue and relief work. They distribute food, medicines, cash aid. All from taxes, not their pockets. Yet tarpaulins picture them as do-gooders. Stricken folk become dependent on the local officials. They begin to owe them debts of gratitude, electing them and their kinsmen forever. In truth, it’s political dynasties that are causing the breakdown of the Philippines. Eighty-two percent of lawmakers are dynasts. They enact annual budgets from which to plunder and self-pro-
and produce tax revenue. The risk arises when projects are approved without firm power-supply plans, speculative proposals reserve scarce grid capacity or infrastructure costs are shifted to households and existing businesses. The Philippines has less room for such mistakes. Its transmission plan projects national peak demand to rise from about 20.7 gigawatts in 2025 to 28.6 u PAGE 7
A lack of capital the concept of a new metropolis that would serve as the de facto administrative capital of the country. Former President Rodrigo Duterte typically took a myopic view of things, appointing Arroyo to preside over Clark programs and projects as a presidential adviser, while muddling things by instituting the Bonifacio Capital District as a magnet for attracting government institutions such as the Supreme Court and the Senate, while members of his Cabinet pushed forward with moving national government agencies to Clark. Duterte’s confusion is nothing new. In 1975, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who borrowed so many things from the era of the Japanese occupation, decreed the creation of Metro Manila, itself the revival of a wartime measure, the creation of the City of Greater Manila to expand the area covered by a declaration of an Open City on the eve of the Japanese occupation. Paulo Alcazaren, in 2014, painstakingly traced the ebb and flow of this idea from the time it was first proposed before the Commonwealth, to its becoming a temporary wartime measure, to its potential revival had Ramon Magsaysay lived to serve a second term, to Marcos creating Metropolitan Manila in 1975, to his transforming it into an administrative region and later
the National Capital Region from 1976 to 1978. Along the way he abolished Quezon City as the national capital in 1976 (the new cult of personality would not tolerate reminders of the past otherwise), but made the restoration of Manila’s capital status meaningless by his creation of a Metro Manila Commission: famously oppositionist always, the restored “capital” would be forever denied actual influence, and no other local government would enjoy concentrated power either (the realities of dictatorship would not tolerate things otherwise). Thirteen years of dictatorship did not fail to create a new capital; it insisted on never even bothering, dangling pocket developments instead. The creation of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority resulted in the worst of all possible outcomes for the public: spreading things out prevents institutions from acting coherently and this weakness increases executive power. It weakens the public’s power too, because citizens are reduced to pilgrims humbly trekking from one distant office to another seeking crumbs of service. Aside from presidents heading a national government that preferred administrative chau PAGE 8
Philippines breaking down due to political dynasties mote. Favorite pork barrels are roadworks, flood controls, health care and cash ayuda. Kinsmen control provincial capitols, and city and municipal halls. Seventy-one of 82 governors, or 87 percent are dynasts. So are 113 of 149, or 75 percent of city mayors. Also, 910 of 1,493, or 61 percent of municipal mayors. Vice governors, vice mayors, provincial board members and city and municipal councilors are also dynasts. The President and Vice President are dynasts. Non-dynasts aren’t necessarily angels. But there’s bigger temptation for dynasts to steal. Spouses, parents and offspring, siblings and cousins are able to control public funds. Cashiers, accountants and auditors are their appointees and recommendees. Easy to keep secret their thievery. The Supreme Court outlawed pork barrels in 2013. Still, political dynasts awarded themselves “budget insertions.” Fake, faulty, overpriced flood works have been exposed as the
biggest scam ever. It began as ghost dredging of lakes and rivers in the mid-2000s to 2015. In 20162025 budget and public works officials expanded to river and seawall construction, resulting in P1.7-trillion kickbacks for dynasts and bureaucrats. Sleaziest flood projects were in Bulacan’s first district. Investigators uncovered P5-billion ghost dike constructions in Calumpit, Hagonoy, Malolos and Baliuag towns from which four senators pocketed 40 percent commissions. Oriental Mindoro’s first district came in second. The ombudsman filed malversation and graft raps for P289.5-million substandard road dikes in Naujan town. In Davao Occidental, a P179.5-million ghost flood work led to indictment of DPWH officials and contractor Sarah Discaya’s St. Timothy Construction Corp. Declared substandard in La Union was a P89.7-million canal dug by Silverwolves Construction of congressmen brothers Eric and Edvic Yap. u PAGE 8
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Opinion & Features LOOKING BACK
Ambeth R. Ocampo
LIFE AND LEGACY. Senators present to Rene Baterbonia Sr. and Rovelyn Baterbonia (6th and 8th from left) Senate Resolution 472 honoring the life, legacy and outstanding contributions to sports of their son, Ateneo de Manila student-athlete Rene Clert "Bobet" Baterbonia, on Wednesday (Aug. 5, 2025). The athlete drowned during a teambuilding activity in Aurora on June 8. PNA photo by Avito Dalan
FLEA MARKET OF IDEAS Joel Ruiz Butuyan FOR the first five months of this year, I stayed in Europe for study and work. I saw, as well as heard confirmatory accounts, that a big majority of our countrymen who are living and working in the old continent are Die-hard Duterte Supporters (DDS). Those in the know affirm that the same holds true for Filipino communities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and most especially in many countries in the Middle East. It’s no surprise then that before proceeding to The Hague, Netherlands, where she frequently visits her father, Vice President Sara Duterte makes side trips to various foreign cities, where she speaks in meet-and-greet gatherings to rally her family’s loyal supporters. Just early this week, VP Sara attended such an event in London where she spoke before a relatively big DDS crowd. At first, it was very perplexing to me. Filipinos in Europe are reaping immense dividends from the democratic societies that have given them shelter in a faraway continent. They’re enjoying the kind of governance that elevates human rights on a pedestal. But back home, why do they rabidly support the most fascist and the most murderous leader the Philippines has ever produced? What explains the extreme dissonance? For the first five months of this year, I stayed in Europe for study and work. I saw, as well as heard confirmatory accounts, that a big majority of our countrymen who are living and working in the old continent are Die-hard Duterte Supporters (DDS). Those in the know affirm that the same holds true for Filipino communities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and most especially in many countries in the Middle East. It’s no surprise then that before proceeding to The Hague, Netherlands, where she frequently visits her father, Vice President Sara Duterte makes side trips to various foreign cities, where she speaks in meet-and-greet gatherings to rally her family’s loyal supporters. Just early this week, VP Sara attended such an event in London where she spoke before a relatively big DDS crowd. At first, it was very perplexing
The DDS phenomenon abroad to me. Filipinos in Europe are reaping immense dividends from the democratic societies that have given them shelter in a faraway continent. They’re enjoying the kind of governance that elevates human rights on a pedestal. But back home, why do they rabidly support the most fascist and the most murderous leader the Philippines has ever produced? What explains the extreme dissonance? Article continues after this advertisement I have talked to quite a few DDS expatriates (including those based outside Europe), and what I’ve heard from them matches what other friends have gathered from DDS personalities in their circles. There are at least three oft-repeated reasons overseas Filipinos mention to explain their support for former President Rodrigo Duterte and members of his family. First, our overseas kababayans cite the fact that they felt safe when they came home during the Duterte administration because drug addicts and other criminals were nowhere in sight. Second, Filipino expatriates credit Duterte with having extended the validity of our passports and driver’s licenses, from five and three years respectively, to a uniform 10 years. Third, Filipinos abroad fondly reminisce that they felt genuine care and concern during the times that Duterte communed with them in meet-and-greet gatherings abroad (outside Europe). The common theme in this sampling of reasons is the element of personal experience. Our DDS kababayans personally felt the benefits of Duterte’s reign as president. They personally experienced improvements in concerns that directly affected them, and the “eradication” of problems that have long bedeviled them. Chances are, these are the same reasons that have made many of our fellow Filipinos living in our country become ardent DDS supporters. In contrast, those who are fiercely anti-Duterte cite the massive human rights violations he committed against the poor, his support for China, which has invaded and occupied our exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the pervasive corruption during his reign, including those involving VP Sara. To our DDS kababayans abroad, however, the human rights violations and the Chinese occupation of our EEZ are issues that do not
directly affect them so there is little personal resonance. Chances are, they don’t have families who were killed during Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs, and they don’t belong to fishermen families severely affected by China’s illegal seizure of our fishing grounds. With regard to corruption, from the DDS point of view, every president has been embroiled with charges of corruption. The differences between the DDS and the anti-DDS are night and day. The DDS look at the personal while the anti-DDS point to impersonal principles. The DDS look at the micro view while the anti-DDS look at the macro view. The DDS sense the emotional, while the anti-DDS perceive the rational. In the world we live in, night and day do not cancel each other out. They each present half of the picture of our world, and if they are both taken together, they provide a complete view of our reality as a people. All along, the DDS and the anti-DDS groups have been speaking not opposite but complementary views of our country. This is probably the reason why no matter how shrill the anti-DDS are in pointing out the irrationality, the lack of principles, and the negative macro impact for the country of the actions of the previous administration, it will not make a dent on the god-worship that the DDS bestow on the Dutertes. The anti-DDS forces fail to address the personal, the micro view, and the emotional concerns of the DDS. Until the anti-DDS forces acknowledge and address the concerns of the DDS, they will have little chance of getting converts from the other side, and VP Sara will continue to have a very solid base of supporters. Anti-DDS leaders who aspire for the presidency must fine-tune their interaction with people, expand their commitments to address the personal challenges faced by the masses, and calibrate their actions by giving solutions to DDS concerns, if they will have any fighting chance against VP Sara in 2028. (Inquirer.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Comments to fleamarketofideas@gmail.com
The AI boom is global. So is its bill... PAGE 6 gigawatts in 2030. The same plan identifies right-of-way acquisition, regulatory approvals, local permits and mismatched generation and transmission schedules as persistent obstacles. New data centers can strengthen local cloud services, data storage and digital investment. They should not, however, receive preferential access to limited power capacity or leave ordinary consumers paying for network upgrades built primarily to serve them. The labor consequences are equally significant. The International Labour Organization estimates that one in four workers worldwide is employed in an occupation with some exposure to generative AI. Only a smaller share falls into the highest exposure category, and the organization considers job transformation more likely than wholesale replacement. That distinction is important, but it should not be used to minimize the disruption. Job losses may occur through layoffs, reduced hiring or the disappearance of entry-level positions that once allowed workers to build experience. Routine administrative, clerical, customer-service and junior professional work is particularly vulnerable. The United States may create more jobs for data scientists, cybersecurity specialists, software developers, electricians and construction workers. Yet those opportunities will not automatically reach workers displaced from other occupations. A growing technology sector does not by itself guarantee an equitable labor transition. The Philippines faces a more concentrated risk because its busi-
ness-process outsourcing industry is closely tied to decisions made by North American corporations. An International Monetary Fund study found that roughly one-third of Philippine workers are highly exposed to AI, although many of those jobs may also benefit from the technology. The study identified business-process outsourcing as the sector with the highest proportion of jobs at risk of displacement. A separate ILO analysis estimated that 12.7 million Philippine jobs have some exposure to generative AI. Exposure does not mean inevitable unemployment. The Philippine digital economy contributed 9.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2025 and employed more than 10 million people. AI could help the country move from repetitive transactions toward analytics, cybersecurity, health services, engineering support, financial technology and higher-value customer operations. That transition will require more than optimistic forecasts. It will require reliable electricity, stronger education, continuous training and employers willing to invest in workers rather than use automation only to reduce payroll. The broader global imbalance is clear. Wealthy economies and a small number of technology companies are positioned to capture much of the profit, intellectual property and computing power. Developing countries may supply labor, energy, data and critical materials while receiving fewer lasting gains. Without deliberate policy, AI could raise productivity while widening inequality within and among nations. Governments should therefore apply three basic standards. First, large data centers should
pay the full incremental cost of serving them. Regulators should require credible electricity-supply, storage and demand-response plans, transparent power and water reporting, and financial responsibility for necessary grid upgrades. Public incentives should be tied to measurable local benefits rather than the size of an investment announcement. Second, companies receiving tax advantages, government contracts or other public support should carry enforceable labor obligations. These should include paid retraining, apprenticeships, recognized credentials, advance notice of major workplace changes and human review when automated systems influence employment, credit, health care or public benefits. Third, international cooperation should extend beyond declarations about AI safety. Developing countries need affordable access to computing resources, locally relevant language systems, cybersecurity support, research partnerships and a fair share of productivity gains. The United States has the capacity to lead such an effort. The Philippines has the workforce and regional position to demonstrate that AI can strengthen human capability rather than merely replace lower-cost labor. AI is neither a blessing nor a curse by itself. Its consequences will be determined by ownership, regulation and public choices. The technology deserves investment, but workers deserve a credible transition, consumers deserve protection and developing economies deserve more than a supporting role. The AI economy will be legitimate only when its benefits travel as widely as its burdens. (AJPress)
ASIDE from Buwan ng Wika, August is also History Month in the Philippines. This month, schoolchildren all over the Philippines commemorate the late President Manuel Quezon’s birthday (Aug. 19) and his hand in laying the legal basis for our “Wikang Pambansa,” our national language. This month, the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor has made the “Quezon Papers” available online for free. While these papers are not complete, they are an important primary source to begin any research into the life and times of Quezon. Decades ago, the University of Michigan preserved in microfilm a selection from the physical “Quezon Papers” in the National Library of the Philippines, and since then it has been the easiest archive to use because the papers were expertly arranged and catalogued. Furthermore, the shelf list comes with insightful notes on individual documents or record groups by the historian Michael Cullinane. The “Quezon Papers,” both in microfilm and the physical documents, which cover the years from 1909 to 1944, were inscribed into the Unesco Memory of the World Register in 2011. On my last visit to the Bentley Library, I was invited to give a short talk to the archivists on the valuable Philippine materials in their care. At one point I showed them a degraded document from the “Quezon Papers” in the National Library in Manila, side by side with a clearer, more legible image of the same document from the Bentley microfilm that had been enhanced using their state-of-the-art microfilm readers. When Bentley Library Director Alexis Antracoli visited Manila in 2024, she saw the physical state of the “Quezon Papers” and offered to digitize their microfilm rolls. A year later, she turned over a copy of the digitized material to National Library Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano. I am still amazed that a mass of physical documents to fill a room could be carried in the palm of my hand on a 2-terabyte drive. This year, the Bentley has made the “Quezon Papers” available
ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026
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Digital repatriation of history online as part of a larger “Recollect-Reconnect” initiative that aims to digitally repatriate Filipiniana materials that have been in their care since the beginning of the 20th century. Before the “Quezon Papers,” the “Recollect-Reconnect” project under Dr. Ricky Punzalan of the University of Michigan School of Information had digitized thousands of photographs taken by Dean C. Worcester and provided copies to libraries in the Philippines. Now the next question is: What archive will they digitize and repatriate next? While most Filipino historians and researchers swarm on the Bentley like bees to honey, there is much more to be had in other repositories within the University of Michigan because of the long association of Michigan Graduates and Faculty or “Michigan Men” with the Philippines. University of Michigan professor Joseph Beal Steere made two scientific expeditions to the Philippines in 1874 and again in 1887. Carl E. Guthe headed an archaeological expedition from 1922 to 1925 that explored over 500 sites in the Visayas and unearthed over 15,000 artifacts that became the nucleus of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology. This museum also has glass slides, photographs, papers, and other materials including a flag probably captured during the Philippine-American War. I am neither a naturalist nor an archaeologist, but the materials brought back by these two men can help us understand the past in order to make sense of the present. During a semester in Ann Arbor as a visiting professor in the University of Michigan Center for Southeast Asian Studies, I found other repositories waiting for Filipino researchers. In the Clements Library, which houses the university’s rare books and “Americana,” I stumbled on papers on Douglas MacArthur’s early years in the Philippines before he earned his stars and made the “I shall return” promise at the beginning of the World War II. This library had various photographic and archival material that cover the Philippine-American War and the Japanese occupation. At the Clements Library, I leafed through a small book “De Moluccis Insulis” by Maxi-
milianus Transylvanus published in 1523 that was based on material gathered from the survivors of the Magellan expedition. This is the first European book on the Philippines. The main university library is named after Harland Hatcher, who, as university president in 1966, conferred then visiting President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. with an honorary degree. In return, Marcos presented the university with a valuable set of the 19th-century “Birds of America” by John James Audubon. The Hatcher Library has a Special Collections Division, which contains a lot of rare Filipiniana. I won’t bore the reader with all the other things that get historians excited, but let’s return to the question the Bentley Library asked, “What do we digitize and repatriate next?” It is so hard to choose, but if the Recollect-Reconnect initiative continues and grows over the next few years, so much history once physically inaccessible to researchers in Manila will be readily available to someone with the interest and a stable internet connection. (Inquirer.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Comments to fleamarketofideas@gmail. com
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL RAIL AUTHORITY IFB No. MS357-27 JANITORIAL SERVICES SCRRA is seeking bids for Janitorial Services. Solicitation documents may be obtained at https://metrolinktrains.com/ doing-business. Proposals are due at 2:00 P.M. (PT) on 9/9/26. For further information, contact Dorothea Cantero, Sr. Contract Administrator, at (213) 452-0302 or CanteroD@ scrra.net. 8/8/26 CNS-4066322# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
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Opinion & Features
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • ASIAN JOURNAL
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School-industry push puts focus on oversight of job skills Lufthansa Technik begins Clark An interagency body and a 10-year national plan seek to expansion, targets 1,200 skilled jobs connect education, training and employment through shared Aircraft maintenance complex is targeted to begin operations in 2028 by AJPress CLARK, Pampanga — Lufthansa Technik Philippines broke ground Thursday, Aug. 6, on a widebody aircraft maintenance complex at Clark International Airport, advancing an expansion expected to create about 1,200 skilled jobs over the coming years. The company described the project as a three-digit-million-dollar investment but did not disclose an updated exact amount. The Philippine government had valued the expansion at $150 million, or about P8 billion, when the plan was announced in 2024. The facility will occupy roughly 157,000 square meters and is de-
signed to accommodate as many as nine widebody aircraft bays. Initial operations are targeted for 2028, subject to construction, regulatory approvals and other project requirements. The employment projection covers technical work in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul. Government officials said the project could create opportunities for engineers, technicians and other aviation professionals while supporting skills development and technology transfer. Lufthansa Technik Philippines President and CEO Holger Beck said about 500 people from the Clark area had already received training ahead of the expansion.
The company also takes about 400 students annually through an 18-month aircraft-maintenance training program. The complex will include an aircraft paint shop and nondestructive-testing workshops. It is being developed to service selected Airbus and Boeing widebody aircraft, including planned capabilities for the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. Clark will become the company’s second major base-maintenance location in the Philippines, complementing its operation at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Lufthansa Technik Philippines is a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and MacroAsia Corp.
DPWH projects: House bill seeks mandatory regular inspections Inquirer.net
Inquirer.net
Members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology surround former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and co-accused as they arrive for their hearing in connection to the multi-million flood control mess at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Feb. 9, 2026. The Philippine STAR / Miguel de Guzman
by the current administration to track DPWH projects and fund releases. “Ultimately, what we want is to safeguard billions in public investments so that taxpayers get their full money’s worth out of these projects for years to come,” he said. “This problem is usually seen in older public works implemented years ago. Over time, properties may have changed hands or authority over these sites may have become muddled by the involvement of private developers, homeowners’ associations or other private entities,” he added. In his fifth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government would begin constructing disaster-resilient Ligtas Pinoy Centers while pushing for stronger building standards to withstand increasingly severe natural disasters. The president’s statement prompted lawmakers to call for prioritizing infrastructure-related measures, including the proposed New Philippine Building Act. Several lawmakers, including Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo, thanked Marcos for mentioning the bill in his Sona. Similarly, Bulacan Rep. Salvador Pleyto said the president’s remarks should spur Congress to ensure structures are resilient to calamities. n
der by political dynasts worsened during that period. Filipino fourth-graders, aged 9-10, were lowest of 58 countries in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. In ASEAN, Filipino fifth and eight graders fared worse than counterparts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam – ahead only of Cambodia. PISA examinees in 2022 and 2018 are now aged 19 and 23. One can just imagine how they are lagging in free college, or if they’re gainfully employed at all. And what of their offspring, if any? TIMSS takers in 2019 are now in Grade 11. They were promoted because the public school system is a conveyor belt that leaves no one behind. They must give way to the next batch of classroom seat occupants. Child malnutrition pervades.
One in four kids aged five and below is stunted or bansot. One in seven is underweight, payatot. One in 18 is wasting, putot. The situation is haven for political dynasts. The duller the voters, the longer the dynasties stay. Bongbong Marcos made no mention of dynasties in his State of the Nation Address the other Monday. Perhaps he knows that his congressman-son Sandro Marcos’ biggest project since 2025 is a fake anti-dynasty bill. (Philstar.com) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM). Facebook:https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc
BBM’s odyssey...
PAGE 6 own Circe, the goddess and sorceress from Davao who turns otherwise decent, peace-loving people into animals. Animals with violent tendencies. So they can be hired to kill the President, the First Lady, a certain now notorious former leader of the House. Our Green Circe likes chichiryas so much she names confidential funds/cash receipts after Mary Grace Piattos, Fernando Tempura, Beverly Claire Pampano, MicoHarina, Patty Ting, Ralph Josh Bacon, Sala Casim, Oishi, Kamote, and Mango (to name some, out of hundreds). Davao’s Circe regularly gave away cash envelops to officials at DepEd and the OVP so that they turn into monkeys – see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil. Our Circe has a kingdom called Troy of Davao. For 30 years, Circe’s Duterte royal clan ruled Davao, an impenetrable fortress with soldiers who kill anyone suspected to be a drug addict, an unfriendly drug lord and anyone who attempts to disturb the peace and order of the southern kingdom. In 2022, Odysseus Marcos offered a wonderful gift, a Trojan horse called the vice presidency, the second highest position in the land. As VP, you are a ruler in waiting. And since the king is claimed to be sometimes sick and
MANILA — A renewed call for schools, employers and government agencies to work more closely has placed attention on how the Philippines oversees education and workforce development. Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow Michael Ralph M. Abrigo said in a government broadcast interview Thursday, Aug. 6, that closer coordination was needed to prepare Filipinos for changing workplace demands. He cited reforms in basic education and the role employers can play in helping schools identify skills required in workplaces. Responsibility for education remains divided principally among the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
by Jan Escosio
Philippines breaking down due to...
PAGE 6 In Ilocos Norte, flood control allocations skyrocketed by over 1,700 percent from P463.67 million to P8.72 billion. Projects in Leyte grew five-fold from P2.17 billion to P10.06 billion. In the Cordillera mountains, the multibillion-peso racket was in flimsy roadside rock nettings, cat’s eyes and safety roller barriers. Lacking critical thinking, Filipinos can’t understand that dynasts cause their misery. In 2018, Filipino 15-year-olds were the lowest among 79 countries in Reading Comprehension. They couldn’t write a single sentence from a paragraph they read in their chosen language under the Program for International Student Assessment. In PISA 2022, Filipinos were 77th of 81 countries. Not much difference from 2018. The plun-
by AJPress
In August 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. created the Education and Workforce Development Group through Administrative Order No. 36. Chaired by the president, the body was designated to coordinate education and workforce programs, reduce overlapping functions, improve labor-market information and submit performance reports. The government has also committed to implementing the National Education and Workforce Development Plan for 2026 to 2035. Its priorities include aligning senior high school and technical-vocational programs with employment needs, improving teacher education and establishing a unified labor-market information system. Previous government reviews found that labor and skills data were dispersed across agencies. EDCOM 2 said separate systems operated by labor, training and trade agencies did not adequate-
ly intersect, limiting the government’s ability to guide scholarships, curricula and training programs. A 2024 PIDS discussion paper found no statistically significant evidence that the country’s trifocalized education structure had independently improved outcomes. The study did not conclude that trifocalization caused weak performance, but identified coordination and accountability as areas requiring reform. Congress is considering House Bill No. 9006, which would create a permanent National Coordinating Council for Education. The measure remains pending. Abrigo’s call adds urgency to the oversight effort. Industry can help identify skills, but government remains responsible for standards, learner protection and proof that public spending produces measurable educational and employment results.
House under Dy OKs bill for more land funding for housing – Sandro Marcos
by Gabriel Pabico Lalu
MANILA — As the country remains among the world’s most disaster-prone areas, a lawmaker has proposed requiring regular inspections of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects after completion to ensure public safety. Parañaque Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said he filed House Bill (HB) No. 9780, or the proposed National Infrastructure Inspection and Maintenance Act, to keep infrastructure projects safe and ensure they remain sound public investments. Under HB No. 9780, DPWH projects would undergo inspections every five to 10 years after completion. “We need to ensure that each project remains safe and of high quality so that government funds are not wasted. The true value of an infrastructure project is not in the construction itself, but in its longevity, safety and usability,” Yamsuan said. “While these digital portals help monitor the implementation of national government infrastructure projects, periodic physical inspections remain necessary to determine whether these projects still meet engineering safety standards after years of exposure to severe weather, overloading, and other factors affecting their structural integrity,” he added. HB No. 9780 tasks the DPWH with inspecting projects and preparing reports for public release. “Based on the inspection findings, the DPWH shall undertake the necessary maintenance, repair, or rehabilitation measures for these projects,” Section 3 of the bill states. The proposed measure also requires the “owner or lawful possessor of the site or location of the national government infrastructure projects” to allow inspectors and maintenance teams access to conduct inspections, maintenance, repairs, and rehabilitation. Refusing access or obstructing inspections and maintenance would be punishable by a fine of up to P50,000. Yamsuan said the measure would complement the Transparency Portal and Integrity Chain established
data and measurable results
even high on certain drugs, that wait could be just a jiffy. Unwilling to disobey the rule of hospitality in their kingdom, Empress Green Circe seized on the offer. Instantly, the north’s Kingdom of Maharlika and the south’s Kingdom of Duterte were united. In 2022, Odysseus Marcos tallied 31.6 million votes while Empress Green Circe grabbed 32 million – the largest ever electoral mandates won by any president and vice president. Odysseus Marcos became the first majority elected president since King Marcos I of 1969. Marcos II got 59 percent of the votes cast, with a 30-percentage-point margin over his closest rival. He won in all the 15 largest cities and in all the 15 cities of Metro Manila. The sheer size of the numbers gave Marcos II a unique national mandate and an absolute majority, reflecting a resonant message of unity across kingdomland. This was not a traditional uprising, but a democratic mandate delivered quietly and overwhelmingly at the ballot box by the Filipino electorate. Four years into his six-year rule, Odysseus Marcos has yet to conquer equally challenging monsters – inflation, rising cost of living, energy shortages, rising geopolitical tensions and, of course, the
incessant and malicious thunderstorms from the Davao kingdom under Empress Green Circe. Odysseus M has already sacrificed his favorite cousin, the Polyphemous of Corruption, before the altar of anti-corruption to satisfy Themis and Eunomia – the deities of good governance, lawful order and civic duty. To discipline Green Circe, he has brought her before the impeachment court of the Senate, populated by supreme gods in their own right, although half of them are probably plunderers while reciting Bible passages and the Constitution. To his people, Odysseus Marcos now appeals. He said in his SONA: Let us continue the work that we have started. To make the Philippines the country that Filipinos deserve. There is no nobler cause than this. We do this for our children. We do this for our future. We cannot but do this, because we love our country and we love our people. (Philstar.com) ***
MANILA — The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III approved on third and final reading on Wednesday House Bill (HB) No. 9697, which expands the land, financing, and partnership options available for socialized housing projects. The House members voted 205 for the bill, with only three against it and zero abstentions. According to House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, the measure seeks to improve the delivery of socialized housing programs by amending Sections 10, 18, and 20 of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (Republic Act No. 7279) as amended by the Balanced Housing Development Program Amendments (Republic Act No. 10884). Marcos said the measure would help the government turn more idle, foreclosed, and underused properties into secure communities for Filipinos who need housing the most. “President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. has made housing a central part of his development agenda, and Speaker Bojie Dy has ensured that the House responds with legislation that can actually move projects from paper to construction. HB 9697 gives government and the private sector more workable routes to provide ordinary families with safe, dignified, and affordable homes,” the majority leader stressed. “Under the leadership of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and Speaker Bojie Dy, we are making housing policy more responsive to the realities faced by our communities. Hindi sapat ang housing target kung mabagal ang permits, kulang ang lupa at walang malinaw na paraan para magtulungan ang national government, LGUs at private developers,” he added. The bill expands the methods for acquiring land and creating
housing projects to include the following: • community mortgages • land swapping • land consolidation • land banking • donations • joint ventures • negotiated purchases • direct purchases • unsolicited proposals under the Public-Private Partnership Code. Under the proposal, government-owned and foreclosed properties may be acquired primarily through negotiated purchase by local governments, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and national housing agencies. Properties forfeited because of unpaid real property taxes would be prioritized for socialized housing, while qualified beneficiaries already occupying the land would have the right of first refusal. Subdivision developers would be required to provide socialized housing equivalent to at least 15 percent of the total project area or project cost, while condominium and vertical housing developers would comply at a rate of at least 5 percent. Developers may satisfy the requirement through new settlements, joint ventures, community mortgage projects or payments dedicated to housing programs in the city or municipality where the private project is located. The resulting housing projects would prioritize informal settler families, underprivileged and homeless citizens and residents displaced by major infrastructure projects. Local governments would receive a two-year exclusive period to use payments made by developers for their own socialized housing programs, subject to extensions during disasters, calamities, and other extraordinary circumstances. HB 9697 also provides for onestop shops, simplified accreditation and the issuance of complete permits, licenses and clearances
within 90 days, while extending qualified tax incentives to participating socialized housing projects. The measure increases penalties for violations, directs collected fines to socialized housing in the affected locality, and requires the DHSUD to issue implementing rules within 90 days and submit an evaluation and accomplishment report to Congress every two years. The following are the bill’s authors, besides the Dy and the majority leader: • Roy M. Loyola • Ma. Victoria Co-Pilar • Lani Mercado-Revilla • Bryan B. Revilla • Ramon Jolo Revilla III • Eric L. Olivarez • Leila M. De Lima • Howard A. Guintu • Jan “Atty. JP” Padiernos • Roman Romulo • Kenneth Paolo Tereng • Henry “Indy” Oaminal Jr. • Antolin Oreta III • Irene G. Labadlabad • Gerald Cloyd Alexis V. Galang • Antonio A. Ferrer • Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando • Terry L. Ridon • Roy M. Gonzales • Sonny “SL” S. Lagon • Steve Chiongbian Solon • John Tracy C. Cagas • Ronaldo Puno • Edwin L. Gardiola • Miro S. Quimbo • Ernesto M. Dionisio Jr. • Eleandro Jesus Madrona • Rolando M. Valeriano • Jennifer “Karen” A. Lagbas • Rennee Co • Roger Gaviola Mercado • Munir G. Arbison Jr. • Ferdinand “B1” L. Beltran • Sergio C. Dagooc • Maria Cristina C. Angeles • Zaldy S. Villa • Rufus Rodriguez • Amado Carlos A. Bolilia IV • Mark Anthony G. Santos • Kenneth T. Gatchalian • Waldredo Arman R. Dimaguila Jr. • Audrey Kay T. Zubiri • Carl Nicolas C. Cari • Nelson S. Legacion
A constituency of resentment...
PAGE 6 and the lower-income communities of Metro Manila. It gives me little comfort to say that my diagnosis in 2011 has held. What has not held is a piece of wishful sociology I allowed myself in that same column. Leaders like Sara, I wrote then, can be “the rearguard of a dying feudal system or the harbingers of a new less personal form of rule.” On the contrary, as we have
seen, her appeal to the masa voter has endured not because she has become a modern leader, but because she has kept replicating the outsider leadership her father made famous: the decisive, foulmouthed, personal equalizer who stands between the elites and the uneducated masses. The demand for the leader as equalizer, it turns out, is not a stage a society passes through. It is a durable formation of voters
that a society keeps reproducing, for as long as government goes on arriving in the lives of the poor as a predator rather than a benefactor. (Inquirer.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Email: public.lives@gmail.com
A lack of capital...
PAGE 6 os to the alternative of imposing political will on urban sprawl, the only ones who gain from having a noncapital are local government barons whose fiefdoms were confirmed. Nor would administrations dare to raise the specter of a proper national capital even as its neighbors undertook, in the 1990s and 2000s, what the Philippines had pioneered in 1939: the move to new, noncolonial capitals (Malaysia, Indonesia, even Myanmar). Whether in New Clark City or the Bonifacio Capital District, it’s all been attempted practically The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints stealthily, burying the implicatiexpressed by the author do not necessarily ons of what’s being attempted in reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of a mind-numbing blanket of gothe Asian Journal, its management, editorial vernmental jargon. Ballooning board and staff. costs mean the capital district *** schemes are in perpetual danger Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com of resulting not in new institutio-
nal homes but in cases of plunder against officials involved in their approval and execution; likewise for New Clark City, and every effort to move the bureaucracy there has ended up reversed as unpopular with government workers and unattractive to results-oriented Cabinet members. And so, Pax Silica: the latest hope-against-hope to turn what has, so far, proven unviable into something finally viable. A shrewd and sharp observer of the follies of all our administrations once said to me that the common affliction of publicity-hungry presidencies is the penchant of Philippine administrations, including the present one, to announce nonbinding deals and nonformalized MOUs for propaganda purposes when they are meaningless. We know too little of what is planned—if anything concrete is
planned—when it comes to the Pax Silica scheme, except in the boldest of bold strokes, to have a productive conversation on the subject. What we need, first of all, is to understand why this particular (large) chunk of government real estate is being proposed: the blunt reality is that the government is the worst possible partner for anyone who is not out to make a quick buck through speculation within a maximum six-year window through influence-peddling, because our republic has no longterm vision or capacity. (Inquirer. net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Email: mlquezon3@gmail.com; Twitter: @mlq3
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Who Gets to Claim the Dependency Tax Exemption in Their Tax Return When Parents Gets Divorced? Barrister’s Corner A tty . K enneth U rsua R eyes AS the year end comes near, divorcing parties begin to plan for how they will file their taxes for this year. Consider the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides primary physical custody of the children to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation. The parties begin to file separate tax returns. Which parent gets to claim the dependency tax exemption of the children in his or her return? In this scenario, the non-custodial parents can no longer file as head of household, even if the noncustodial parent is allowed to claim the children as dependents under the divorce judgment because this requires that the parent have custody of the children at least 6 months of the year. Noncustodial parents also can no longer claim the earned income tax credit. However, the noncustodial parent can claim the child tax credit. In the absence of a provision in the divorce judgment which states otherwise, the parent with primary custody of the children is ordinarily entitled to claim the children as dependents for tax purposes. If a qualifying child is claimed as a dependent by both parents and the parents do not file a joint return, the child is normally treated as the qualifying child of the custodial parent IRC § 152(c)(4)(B)(i) However, the Code allows the dependency exemption and child tax credit to be shifted to the noncustodial parent when a child receives over one-half of the child's support during the calendar year from the child's parents who are either (i) divorced, (ii) legally sepa-
rated, (iii) separated under a written separation agreement, or (iv) living apart at all times during the last six months of the calendar year. The child must be in the custody of one or both of the child's parents for more than one-half of the calendar year. IRC § 152(e) (1) (A) & (B) To shift the exemption and child tax credit to the noncustodial parent, the custodial parent must release or waive his or her claim to the exemption for the year by executing IRS Form 8332. IRC § 152(e) (2). The custodial parent can waive this right to claim the children as dependents and let the noncustodial parent claim them by executing IRS Form 8332 and filing it with his or her return. Certain Tax Court cases held that the waiver is effective even if the Form 8332 was not filled out in detail. In Bramante (T.C. Memo 2003-228), the custodial parent agreed to waive her right to exemptions on Form 8332. The custodial parent realized that as her income increased, the value of the exemptions increased. The custodial parent discovered that her Social Security number was missing on the form and that the noncustodial parent, had dated the form in his handwriting. The tax court still upheld the waiver as effective despite the missing details from Form 8332. In Boltinghouse, the IRS argued that missing details in the separation agreement defeated the waiver (T.C. Memo 2003134). In this case, the parties executed a separation agreement allowing the noncustodial parent to claim one of his children, but the noncustodial parent did not file a Form 8332. As a result, the court had to decide whether the agreement conformed in substance to Form 8332. The IRS contended that the agreement was not in substance a Form 8332 because it did not reflect the years the exemptions were to
be waived and it did not provide Social Security numbers for the parents. Although the IRS pointed to some cases in which the Tax Court had rejected waivers that were ambiguous as to the applicable years, the Tax Court said that it was clear that this agreement applied to the years the parents began filing separate returns. As in Bramante, lack of Social Security numbers was not considered a serious defect by the Tax Court. The custodial parent can waive the dependent exemption each year or for a number of years. The noncustodial parent should file form 8332 with his or her tax return in order to be entitled to the exemption. To avoid any confusion and tax issues with the IRS, the parties should attempt to agree or resolve in court the issue of who will claim the dependency exemption of the children as part of the divorce judgment. Parties should seek the assistance of an experienced attorney to weed through complex family law issues.
*** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)
Protect the Process
IF you grew up in a Filipino household, you’ve probably heard the words, “Huwag mong ipagsabi muna.” (“Don’t tell everyone just yet.”) Whether it was a pregnancy, a new job, a business opportunity, or the purchase of a home, many of us were taught to wait before making an announcement. Some believed that doing so protected a blessing from bati or unnecessary envy. Others simply called it wisdom. Whatever the reason, the lesson was the same: Protect what is still growing. As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom behind those words, not from a place of fear, but from a place of stewardship. The Bible reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:7 that there is “a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” Wisdom is knowing the difference. As a mortgage advisor, I often tell my clients, “Don’t announce
EMPLOYMENT
that you’ve bought the house until you have the keys in your hands.” It is not because we expect something to go wrong, but because, until escrow closes, there is still work to be done. Financing can change. Conditions still need to be met. The celebration comes after the keys are in your hands. Life works much the same way. Think about one of life’s greatest blessings: a pregnancy. Most parents don’t announce that they’re expecting the moment they see a positive test. They wait until the pregnancy has had time to develop. It is not because they’re living in fear, but because something precious deserves time to grow before it is shared with the world. I’ve learned that the same principle applies to many areas of life. The early stages of a dream deserve protection. They’re often the most vulnerable to doubt, distraction, comparison, and the weight of other people’s opinions. Life has taught me that not every smile celebrates your success and not every voice speaks life into your dream. That’s not a reason to become suspicious of others. It’s simply a reminder
to be discerning. Whether you’re paying off debt, starting a business, saving for your first home, restoring a relationship, or pursuing a dream God has placed on your heart, not every blessing needs an immediate announcement. Sometimes, the wisest thing we can do is quietly prepare, faithfully steward what God has entrusted to us, and trust His timing. There will come a day to celebrate. There will come a day to share your testimony. But until then, protect the process. Trust His timing. And when the season is right, let the blessing speak for itself. After all, every good and perfect gift comes from God. Our greatest joy isn’t simply receiving the blessing; it’s honoring the One who gave it. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** Kathy Current is a financial coach, mortgage advisor, and author of Heal Your Money Wounds God’s Way, where she combines over three decades of financial experience with timeless biblical wisdom. Kathy addresses real-life questions about God and money, helping readers find freedom and purpose in their financial lives.
EMPLOYMENT
LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026
Health @Heart Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS WHILE Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus, causes the majority of cervical cancer in women, it is also responsible for various cancers in men. Today, approximately 42 million Americans are infected with HPV, with about 13 million new infections yearly. In the Philippines, about 1.15 to 1.5 million Filipino women carry an active HPV at any given time, and about 38 million to 39.6 million are considered at risk for developing complications. Over the past decades, an estimated "260,000 to 270,000 HPVassociated cancers were diagnosed in women, and 210,000 to 230,000 among men, in the United States over the past decade," according to the US CDC. These are all preventable with the Gardasil vaccines, when boys and girls are vaccinated before they are sexually active. The rate of throat cancer in the United States has not declined, compared to most head and neck malignancies. I suspect that the statistics could also be true, when extrapolated, for other countries, like the Philippines, since most Filipinos are westernized in their lifestyle, habits, and behaviors, etc. The most logical explanation why cancer of the throat has not diminished has been attributed to the Human Papillomavirus. HPV is popularly known to cause genital and most cancers of the cervix (mouth of the womb). It has only been recently that scientists discovered and identified HPV transmission through oral sex as an etiology of throat cancer. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston reported that its research team found “the incidence of throat cancer (in the United States) to be stagnant and even rising in some populations, defying a downward trend in other head and neck cancers linked more closely with smoking.” The American Cancer Society reports that the greatest risk factors in head and neck cancers are smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, 90% of them either smokers or tobacco-chewers and about 80% of them also imbibed a lot of alcohol. The good news is that a trend analysis in head and neck cancers in the United States shows a decline over the past twenty years, trailing a decrease in smoking prevalence, which started in the 1970s, by 10 to 15 years. The bad news is that oropharyngeal cancers (which include the tonsils, base of the tongue and soft palate, and side and back of the throat) have been up in some populations in the United States, and probably among people in other parts of the world who practice oral sex, where HPV takes its toll. HPV could also cause cancer of the vagina, penis, and anus, besides cervical and throat cancers. The sample of the vaccine referred to is Gardasil, which is genetically engineered and which blocks infection caused by two of the more than 100 types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), strains 16 and 18. These two sexuallytransmitted viruses are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers. HPV, inone form or the other, afflicts more than 20 million Americans. The other strains of the virus cause painful genital warts, and sometimes, cervical cancers too. Let us momentarily discuss cervical cancer, since the HP virus is implicated in its causation in almost three-quarters of this malignancy. How prevalent is cervical cancer? In the Philippines, there are
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Sex and cancer
about 5000 new cases of cervical cancer each year. However, more alarming than that is the fact that there are between 10,000 to 25,000 women walking around (not seen by a physician) who have undiagnosed pre-invasive lesions in their cervix. If diagnosed early, these women could be saved. For every four survivors of breast cancer, there are fewer than 3 women who survive cervical cancer, which shows how virulent cervical cancer is. What causes cervical cancer? Human Papillomavirus (HPV, also known as genital herpes virus) accounts for most cervical cancers. At least 50% of sexually active men and women are infected with genital HPV, especially those with multiple partners. Among the million American and Philippine men and women infected with HPV, many linked with abnormal Papare tests, genital warts, and cervical cancer. It is estimated that at least 13 million new cases of cervical cancers are discovered annually. Between half a million and a million Americans have genital warts, transmitted through sexual contact. It takes time for those infected with HPV to develop into cancer, so there are countless infected people out there who would potentially have cancers. The best for children (before turning 10) and adults up to age 45 is to get vaccinated to prevent HPV infection to begin with. Is the cure for cervical cancer? Better than the cure! A vaccine (Gardasil) that prevents cervical cancer, vulvar and vaginal cancer that was approved by the US-FDA in 2006 was found to be “effective 100%, in the short term, at blocking the cancer and lesions likely to turn to cancer” (like the pre-invasive lesions), according to Gardasil manufacturer, Merck. To have 100 percent efficacy is something we see very rarely. The UK’s version of the vaccine is known as Cervarix. How early should the vaccine be given? Students in grammar school, middle school and high school should be vaccinated before they become sexually active, as early as 9 years old for both boys and girls, and adults up to age 45, because once they catch HPV infection, there is no cure; herpes is for life. This was the recommendation of Dr. Gloria Bachmann, director of The Women’s Health Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Brunswick, NJ, who said this vaccine is a “phenomenal breakthrough.” Prophylaxis Gardasil vaccination comprehensively eliminates HPV 16 and 18-associated non-invasive and invasive cervical cancer. The vaccine also cuts down infection with HPV 6 and 11, the causes of 90% of genital warts. Gardasil is safe for both boys and
FOR RENT
girls and adults. How about throat cancers? Of the 45,000 head and neck cancers in the US each year, about 10,000 of them are oropharyngeal cancers, and tongue cancers among young adults have also increased. The evident conclusion is that the cause is the HP virus. “Over the last five years, 35% of the throat cancer patients treated at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center had no history of smoking, and that close to 90% of patients who had never smoked showed evidence of oral infection with HPV. The researchers felt that “vaccinating only females against HPV could result in a missed opportunity to prevent throat cancers.” It is recommended for both girls and boys to close that gap, preventing boys from spreading the HPV virus. The use of cling plastic wrap used in the kitchen placed over the woman’s groin for oral sex as a shield has been advocated by some to prevent HPV transmission. Mouth, tongue, and other throat cancers could be as grave and deadly as most other forms of cancer. I do not know how to put this more seriously, more effectively, and more delicately, but medically speaking, a moratorium on oral sex might be in order. Realistically, human nature usually prevails. This is a greater argument for childhood vaccination with the life-saving Gardasil. And parents should not deny their sons and daughters this valuable vaccine. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, U.S. Senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Astronaut Gus Grissom, pugilist Muhammad Ali, distinguished educators, renowned scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com. On Amazon.com, search for “Where is My America?” Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com
10 AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL
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On the calming voice of Jesus Pastor’s Notes Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas THE tranquility following the storm—that’s what we need to regain our strength and find inner peace. Yet, is that truly what we strive to attain? Or do we persist in brooding over our worries and problems, allowing negative thoughts to swirl in our minds and instill fear in our hearts? This Sunday’s Gospel recounts Jesus walking on the water and calming the “sea of fear” in the hearts and minds of the disciples. It encourages us to come to Jesus in the silence of our hearts and plead with Him to alleviate our fears and anxieties whenever life’s “storms” arise, whether they involve illness, financial crises, or turmoil in relationships. Jesus urges us to feel His
comforting embrace and the reassurance that these “storms” will pass, and that He is there to walk alongside us. He seems to be saying, “Don’t face this problem or issue alone. Let Me be with you, and let’s solve it together.” In her meditation book, Jesus Calling, Sarah Young conveys a message from Jesus with these calming words: “Stop worrying long enough to hear My voice. I speak softly to you, in the depths of your being. Your mind shuttles back and forth, weaving webs of anxious confusion. As My thoughts rise up within you, they become entangled in those sticky webs of worry. Thus, My voice is muffled, and you hear only ‘white noise.’ Ask My Spirit to quiet your mind so that you can think My thoughts. Do not be deafened by the noise of the world or by your own thoughts. Instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Sit quietly in My Presence, letting My thoughts reprogram your thinking.” St. Augustine also advises us to listen for the voice of Jesus by
quieting ourselves during times of crisis in our lives: “For Christians who fear they are drowning in the world’s busyness, the worst thing they can do is panic. There can be no question of escaping the situation; we are many miles from land, and there is no help nearby. The one thing we can do is to withdraw, as it were, into ourselves, to find the Christ within, who is as powerful to calm the inner tempest as He was to subdue the waves on the Lake of Galilee.” Indeed, may we hear the soothing voice of Jesus when a tempest comes—not in the heavy wind, the earthquake, or the fire—but in the whispering voice of Jesus, who tells us, “Take courage; it is I; do not be afraid.” In Christ’s love, Fr. Rodel Balagtas
*** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California
Manila among Time Out's best cities for street food in 2026 Manila is on the map of the top 10 best cities in the world for street food in 2026, according to Time Out. by Ayie Licsi Philstar.com
THE global magazine published its annual ranking for topnotch curbside cuisine on July 30, with the Philippine capital placing fourth alongside Mexico City. Time Out hailed Manila with a 58% approval rating based on its survey of 24,000 urbanites from different parts of the world. It took into consideration the street food's affordability and the quality of the city's food scene. Ranking first with a 63% rating is Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, with the outlet lauding street food in Bến Thành Market like pho and banh mi. In second place is Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (62%), which is known for its open-air canteen vibe in Jalan Alor, where you can indulge in satay, whole-grilled fish, and char kway teow. Tying in third are Jakarta, In-
donesia and Taipei, Taiwan with 59%, respectively. Jakarta was recognized for its roadside warungs, or food stalls, where you can delight in spicy nasi goreng and gado-gadu, while Taipei was lauded for its night markets like the one in the Shilin district. Rounding out the top 5 is Hanoi, Vietnam in sixth with 57%. Check out the full list below 1. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – 63% 2. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 62% 3. Jakarta, Indonesia and Tai-
pei, Taiwan – 59% 4. Mexico City, Mexico and Manila, Philippines – 58% 5. Hanoi, Vietnam – 57% 6. Johannesburg, South Africa and Bangkok, Thailand – 56% 7. Mumbai, India and Marrakesh, Morocco – 55% 8. Los Angeles, United States; Beijing, China; and Singapore, Singapore – 54% 9. Jaipur, India – 53% 10. Guadalajara, Mexico; Nairobi, Kenya; Bucharest, Romania; and New Delhi, India – 52% 11. Accra, Ghana – 51%
California sends wildfire crews to Oregon and Washington SACRAMENTO - California is deploying firefighters and specialized rescue personnel to Oregon and Washington as the Pacific Northwest confronts severe wildfire conditions, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced. The deployment includes 20 CAL FIRE engines and four Rapid Extraction Module Support teams coordinated through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. State officials said the assistance would not reduce California’s ability to respond to emergencies at home. Since July 16, Cal OES has coordinated the deployment of 380 personnel and 60 fire engines and water tenders to the two states through interstate mutual-aid agreements. Personnel include firefighters, mechanics, chief officers and support staff. The specialized four-person rescue teams come from fire agencies in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County and Corona. They provide rescue and emergency medical support to crews working in dangerous conditions. Three teams were assigned to fires in Oregon and one to fires in Washington.
SACRAMENTO: California has released Cal-Secure 2.0, an updated statewide cybersecurity strategy designed to help government agencies respond
Photojournalist Mandy Navasero (seated, Photographer Mandy Navasero. Carmela Charles of Carmela Children Collaborative. center) with her family.
Rogelio Constantino Medina with Screenshot of Jobert’s Jobert’s sister Sol Sucaldito at Loyola message that he would Jobert Sucaldito (standing, extreme Memorial Chapels on Commonwealth not be able to join the right) at East Avenue Medical Cen- Avenue, Quezon City. Jobert passed virtual rosary on July 30, away August 2, 2026. 2026. ter.
Singer Michael Pangilinan (left) and Jobert Sucaldito Rogelio Constantino Medina with Jobert Sucaldito cheering up the elderly at Abiertas House of Futuristic play “Rizal 3000”. at ABS-CBN studio. Friendship.
dy was already covering street demonstrations against the Marcos administration for Mr. & Ms. magazine. “Kasi, mayroon akong balls sa dibdib,” she once told me, expressing the courage she brought to her work. “Noong EDSA revolt ay humarap kami sa mga tangke. Ginawa namin ito dahil mahal namin ang aming bayan. Masarap maging Pilipino,” she said. “During the EDSA revolt, we faced the tanks. We did this because we love our country. It is wonderful to be Filipino.” She remembered praying sincerely with religious leaders and civilians: “Hail Mary, have mercy on us.” She added that being Filipino was something one could proudly proclaim to the world. As a single parent, Mandy made time for her children, whom she considered gifts from God. “Nag-iba ang estilo ng buhay ko. Umuuwi na ako nang mas maaga dahil nanay na ako,” she said. Her children attended Sunday Bible school and became responsible young people. “I’m not a disciplinarian. I treat them like my friends,” she said. “When I don’t like what they are doing, they stop. They listen.” Mandy once related that while riding in a taxi, her daughter Amanda Noelle innocently told the driver she was not afraid of her mother because “my mom is my real barkada.” Everyone
laughed. Despite the demands of photography, Mandy was a devoted mother. A Birthday With a Cause Singer-songwriter Carmela Charles recently celebrated her birthday by supporting a feeding program and school-supplies outreach for children at San Luis Central School in San Luis, Aurora. “Birthdays remind us to count our blessings. Perhaps the most meaningful way to celebrate is by sharing those blessings with others,” said Carmela of Carmela Children Collaborative. Farewell to TV and Radio Host Jobert Sucaldito When I arrived at a funeral home in Quezon City for the first night of the wake for TV and radio host and writer Jobert Sucaldito, I saw many people from the entertainment industry. OOTD, or “Oras ng Opinyon, Talakayan at Diskusyon,” co-host Chaps Manansala welcomed me, and I later met the program’s friendly staff. I extended my condolences to Jobert’s son, Carlo Bryan, and spoke with his sister, Sol Sucaldito, who lives in Baguio City. She said the family’s last video chat with Jobert was on July 13, 2026. The Sucaldito siblings regularly prayed the rosary together through group video calls. On July 30, Jobert was unable to join and sent this message: “I won’t be able to join our rosary kasi erratic pa oras ko. Naghahabol
The California Conservation Corps also sent 117 Corpsmembers and staff to support base-camp operations, supply distribution and camp maintenance. More than 40 CAL FIRE personnel returned after a 14-day Oregon assignment, along with 96 local government firefighters and 25 engines. Officials said the deployments reflect California’s mutual-aid commitments while maintaining adequate emergency coverage statewide.
California updates cybersecurity plan as AI threats expand
A Tribute to Photojournalist Mandy Navasero
WHENEVER I think of the late photojournalist Mandy Navasero, I remember the four tense days I saw her during the EDSA Revolution from February 22 to 25, 1986. The uprising, sparked by military defections, Cardinal Jaime Sin’s radio appeal and mass civilian protests, ended the regime of Ferdinand Marcos and drew admiration around the world. A 1981 graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, Luz Amandolina Cruz Navasero, known as Mandy, was the only girl and fifth of seven children of Victor Laforteza Navasero Jr. of Los Baños and Leonora Almonte Cruz of Pagsanjan, Laguna. Mandy began in public relations at Bank of America in the early 1970s. Her first break as a photojournalist came in 1976, when Philippine Panorama editor Levi Marcelo asked her to take a cover photograph for the Manila Bulletin’s Sunday magazine. “Chelo Banal was very proud that there was now a woman photographer. At that time, the world of photography was dominated by men,” Mandy recalled. She earned an AB in English from Philippine Women’s University and a master’s degree in English literature from Ateneo de Manila University. She later contributed photographs to major local and foreign publications and photographed prominent figures. They included actress Zsa Zsa Gabor; former Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III; former Vice Presidents Noli de Castro and Jejomar Binay; public officials, military leaders, journalists, entertainers and civic personalities. Her subjects also included journalists Eggie Apostol, Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and Mike Enriquez; entertainers Vic Sotto, Richard Gomez, Jaclyn Jose and Melanie Marquez; and political figures Loren Legarda, Raul Roco, Mar Roxas and Franklin Drilon, among many others. Before the EDSA revolt, Man-
California personnel following a 14-day deployment to Washington State File photo/www.gov.ca.gov
ng tulog pag may chance. Di pa recovered sa anxiety. But don’t worry, lagi akong nagpi-pray for all of us.” I was touched by his message. Sol described Jobert as caring, thoughtful, generous and kind. Tears flowed silently from her eyes as she spoke. To the Sucaldito family, I extend my sincerest condolences on the passing of Jobert, a true and dear friend who supported my outreach activities for the elderly, children with cancer, persons with disabilities and children with special needs. “Rizal 3000” at St. Scholastica’s College Manila “Rizal 3000” will be presented on Aug. 8, 2026, at 6 p.m. and Aug. 9 at 5 p.m. at St. Cecilia’s Hall, St. Scholastica’s College Manila. The play is a futuristic reimagining of national hero Dr. José Rizal, set in a time when humanity stands at the crossroads of truth, identity and freedom. In a world shaped by technology and transformation, Rizal’s ideals are reborn, challenging a new generation to remember who they are and what they must defend. The production is presented by the PhilStagers Foundation. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** rogeliocmedina@yahoo.com
to increasingly sophisticated online threats, including attacks enabled by artificial intelligence. The plan builds on the state’s first cybersecurity strategy, issued in 2021, and provides agencies with practical guidance for protecting systems that support benefits, health care, transportation and public safety. State officials said criminals are using AI to create more convincing scams, exploit security weaknesses and target government networks and critical infrastructure. Cal-Secure 2.0 is intended to help agencies identify vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses and respond quickly to incidents. The strategy emphasizes three priorities: expanding the state cybersecurity workforce through recruitment, train-
ing and retention; improving coordination and information sharing across agencies; and modernizing technology and security tools. California Chief Information Officer Chris Given said the plan gives agencies guidance to adapt to changing threats and protect essential public services. State Information Security Officer Vitaliy Panych said the framework allows agencies to focus on major risks while following common statewide standards aligned with national cybersecurity practices. The update also reflects California initiatives on data privacy, responsible AI procurement and consumer protections, including tools that let residents limit the sale of their personal information.
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LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026
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LIFESTYLE • CONSUMER GUIDE • COMMUNITY • MARKETPLACE
Veteran entertainment journalist Jobert Sucaldito passes away at 65
Longtime columnist, broadcaster and talent manager covered Philippine show business across print, television, radio and digital media
House resolutions seek to recognize SB19 after U.S. milestones
Measures cite the P-pop group’s tourism appointment, Josh Cullen’s ceremonial pitch and its Lollapalooza debut; both remain pending in committee
by AJPress
by AJPress
MANILA — Veteran entertainment journalist, radio commentator and talent manager Jobert Sucaldito died Sunday, Aug. 2. He was 65. His death was announced by OOTD Jobert and Chaps Channel, the online program he co-hosted with filmmaker Chaps Manansala. Sucaldito was taken from his Quezon City home to the Philippine Heart Center, where he was pronounced dead at about 10:30 a.m. His son, Carlo Brian Sucaldito, later said doctors at the hospital attributed his father’s death to cardiac arrest. Born April 16, 1961, Sucaldito began working as an entertainment reporter for the Times Journal in 1982. He later wrote for publications including Malaya and Bandera, covering the personalities, productions and developments that shaped Philippine show business. His work expanded into television during the 1990s. He became part of the GMA programs “Show & Tell” and “Startalk” before joining ABS-CBN’s entertainment talk show “The Buzz.” Sucaldito also became a familiar voice on DZMM. He co-hosted “Mismo” with Ahwel Paz and
MANILA – Two resolutions filed in the House of Representatives seek to commend SB19 for recent international milestones, including the group’s appointment as Philippine tourism ambassadors and appearances at a Major League Baseball game and Lollapalooza in Chicago. House Resolution No. 1280 was introduced by Negros Occidental Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez with Reps. Nelson Legacion, Sarah Jane Elago and Kathryn Joyce Gorriceta. House Resolution No. 1266 was filed separately by Calamba, Laguna Rep. Charisse Anne Hernandez. Both proposed measures remained pending before the House Committee on Creative Industries as of Aug. 6 and had not yet been adopted by the chamber. The Department of Tourism introduced SB19 as tourism ambassadors on July 26. Three days later, Josh Cullen threw a ceremonial first pitch before the Chicago White Sox played the New York Yankees at Rate Field. The resolutions and related reports described him as the first P-pop artist to take part in that pregame ceremony during a regular-season Major League Baseball game. On July 30, SB19 performed an hourlong, 10-song set at Lollapalooza in Grant Park. The Grammy Museum described the group as the first homegrown Filipino act
Photo from Instagram/@unstoppable_jobert
later worked on “Showbuzz,” programs that combined entertainment reporting, interviews and commentary for radio listeners and DZMM TeleRadyo viewers. In later years, he continued covering the entertainment industry through OOTD, short for “Oras ng Opinyon, Talakayan at Diskusyon.” The online program brought his interview and commentary format to digital audiences. His work extended beyond journalism. Sucaldito managed performers, including singers Michael Pangilinan and Kiel Alo, and worked on concerts and other entertainment proj-
ects. He also appeared in films including “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story,” “Pare, Mahal Mo Raw Ako” and “Silab.” Friends, relatives and colleagues paid their respects during a public wake held Aug. 3 through Aug. 6 at Loyola Memorial Chapels in Quezon City. Sucaldito’s career followed the evolution of Philippine entertainment journalism from newspaper columns to television, radio and online programming. Across more than four decades, he remained closely identified with the daily coverage and discussion of the country’s entertainment industry.
Mary Rivera, who played Ned’s grandmother in ‘Spider-Man,’ dies at 82
The Iloilo-born Hawaii resident appeared in a Tagalogspeaking scene in the 2021 film “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” by AJPress HONOLULU — Mary Egida Rivera, the Philippine-born Hawaii resident who played Ned Leeds’ grandmother in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” died April 15 in Honolulu, according to her obituary. She was 82. Rivera, a Mililani resident, was born June 2, 1943, in Iloilo, Philippines, to Vicente and Felicia Egida. Her obituary described her as a retired church missionary and said she was proud of her appearance in the 2021 film. Her family later said Rivera had suffered a stroke before her death. Rivera portrayed Lola, the grandmother of Ned Leeds, played by Filipino American actor Jacob Batalon. In her brief scene, she spoke in Tagalog while addressing Ned and the visitors in her home. She also asked one of the Spider-Men, through Ned, to remove a cobweb from the ceiling. The scene drew attention among Filipino viewers for its use of Tagalog and depiction of a Filipino household in a major Hollywood production. Rivera’s daughter, Angela “Angie” Kelly, said in a 2022 interview that she found a casting notice seeking a Hawaii-based Filipina grandmother and encouraged her mother to audition. Rivera spoke during the audition about her life
Screengrab from Netflix Philippines/Youtube
in the Philippines, her move to the United States and raising four children and 11 grandchildren, Kelly said. Kelly said her mother had also worked as a radio broadcaster and teacher but considered being a mother and grandmother her most important roles. News of Rivera’s death circulated widely this week, nearly four months after she died. Batalon paid tribute to his onscreen grandmother, writing, “Rest in paradise, Lola.” Rivera is survived by her husband, Alejandro Rivera; four children; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
H.E.R. revisits OPM classic ‘Maging Sino Ka Man’ at New York karaoke night
The Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer’s performance at Kalye highlighted her connection to Rey Valera’s enduring love song. by AJPress NEW YORK — H.E.R. led diners in a rendition of “Maging Sino Ka Man” during a karaoke night at Kalye, a Filipino restaurant on the Lower East Side. A video shared by the restaurant shows the singer performing part of the chorus before inviting those gathered around her to join. The appearance was part of Kalye’s “Kalyeoke” event. The song has held personal meaning for H.E.R., born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson. Raised in Northern California by a Black father and a Filipina mother from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, she has spoken about the influence of Filipino music and family traditions. “My mom’s favorite is Sharon Cuneta, so I used to sing ‘Maging Sino Ka Man’ all the time,” H.E.R. said in a 2021 television interview. “That was my Filipino go-to song.” Wilson was already singing
Photo from Instagram/@hermusicofficial
the song at age 11, when she appeared on “Adobo Nation,” a program on The Filipino Channel. Asked whether she could sing in Filipino, she performed the ballad and spoke about her hopes of becoming a touring musician. She later returned to the song during a visit to the Cabanatuan home where her mother grew up, leading relatives in a family rendition.
Singer-songwriter Rey Valera wrote and originally recorded “Maging Sino Ka Man” in 1979. Valera has said he composed it in a cemetery in Meycauayan, Bulacan, where he found quiet to write. The song centers on unconditional love and a refusal to let another person’s background or outside opinion determine whom one chooses to love. Sharon Cuneta later recorded the song for the 1991 film “Maging Sino Ka Man,” in which she starred with Robin Padilla. Erik Santos and Hannah Precillas subsequently recorded versions for television adaptations. H.E.R., a five-time Grammy winner and Academy Award recipient, is also part of DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island,” scheduled for theatrical release Sept. 25. Her Kalye performance connected Valera’s composition, Cuneta’s rendition and a Filipino American artist’s family memories.
Photo from Instagram/@officialsb19
booked for the festival’s Chicago edition. That distinction should not be broadened to “first Filipino artist,” because performers of Filipino heritage had appeared at Lollapalooza before. SB19’s milestone rests on its status as a group formed and based in the Philippines. The set included “DAM,” “GENTO,” “MAPA,” “LAWLESS” and a preview of “Mga Kababayan,” associated with the late Filipino rap pioneer Francis Magalona. The performance linked the group’s contemporary P-pop sound to an earlier generation of Philippine music.
The House measures also cited SB19’s performance clothing, which the group and stylist Roy Back said drew from museum research, Indigenous embroidery and other Philippine cultural references. A separate Senate resolution filed by Sen. Bam Aquino also seeks to commend SB19. Like the House measures, it remains a proposed expression of recognition unless formally adopted. SB19 is next listed to perform at Summer Sonic in Osaka on Aug. 14 and Tokyo on Aug. 15. The appearances extend the group’s continuing international festival run this year.
12 AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL
Katrina Llegado wins Miss Supranational 2026, giving Philippines its second crown Model, entrepreneur and Philippine Air Force reservist becomes the second Filipina to win the Poland-based pageant, following Mutya Datul’s 2013 victory by AJPress MANILA — Maria Katrina Llegado won Miss Supranational 2026 on July 31 in Nowy Sącz, Poland, securing the Philippines’ second title in the international competition and ending a 13-year wait for another Filipina winner. Llegado was crowned at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheater after competing against 66 other national representatives in the pageant’s 17th edition. Eduarda Braum of Brazil, the 2025 winner, presented her with the new Fioletowa Crown. France’s Ève Gilles finished first runner-up, followed by Brazil’s Lara Marina, Nigeria’s Gift Eno Ndah and the Czech Republic’s Karolína Gorylová. Miss Supranational, established in Poland in 2009, is an annual international pageant featuring interviews and presentations in evening wear, swimwear and national costume. Its winner serves as an international ambassador during a year of appearances and service-related activities. In the final interview, Llegado was asked when she stopped trying to meet the world’s expectations and began becoming the woman she believed she
Photo from Facebook/@MissSupranational
was meant to be. “We are perfectly imperfect,” she said, adding that she continued to work toward the best version of herself. The victory marked the highest achievement of a pageant career that includes the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas 2019 title and a fifth-runnerup finish at the international competition in Bolivia. She
later placed second runner-up at Miss Universe Philippines 2022 and reached the final six in 2025 before being named Miss Supranational Philippines 2026. Her win follows Mutya Datul’s 2013 victory for the Philippines. Outside pageantry, Llegado earned a bachelor’s degree in management of financial institutions from De La Salle University. She is a co-founder of Filipino cosmetics brand Clocheflame and has been identified in published profiles as its chief financial officer. She is also a Philippine Air Force reservist and has linked her public-service platform to women’s economic opportunity through Project PEARLS’ G.R.O.W. initiative. Llegado said her company supported a candle-making project intended to provide livelihood opportunities to participating women in Tondo, Manila. Her victory places the Philippines among countries with multiple crowns. She won wearing a gold-andorange evening gown by Filipino designer Rian Fernandez. The purple-stoned Fioletowa Crown was designed by Venezuelan jeweler George Wittels.
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Manila International Film Festival announces first wave of 2026 lineup DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island” will lead the third annual festival, scheduled Sept. 3-6 at the TCL Chinese Theatre and The Beverly Hilton by AJPress LOS ANGELES — The Manila International Film Festival has announced the first 14 titles in its 2026 lineup, led by a special advance screening of DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island,” an original feature inspired by Philippine folklore. The third annual festival will run from Sept. 3 through Sept. 6, with screenings, filmmaker question-and-answer sessions and industry panels at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The festival will conclude with an awards gala at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Tickets and festival passes are now on sale. Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Filipino American filmmaker Januel P. Mercado, “Forgotten Island” will be screened three weeks before its scheduled Sept. 25 theatrical release. The animated film follows lifelong friends Jo, voiced by Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Filipino American actress Liza Soberano. The two discover a portal that transports them to Nakalimutan, an island populated by magical and mythological creatures they heard about while
growing up in Filipino families. Their effort to return home becomes more urgent when they learn that escaping the island may cost them their memories of their friendship. Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga voices the Dreaded Manananggal, described as the island’s most feared creature. The voice cast also includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy and Ronny Chieng. Universal Pictures will distribute the film. Salonga will also receive the MIFF Icon Award during the closing-night gala on Sept. 6. The festival will present a twofilm retrospective featuring Olivia Lamasan’s 1995 romantic drama “Sana Maulit Muli,” starring Salonga and Aga Muhlach, and Abigail Hing Wen’s hybrid live-action and animated short film “The Vale: Origins.” The festival announcement noted that Salonga is scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this year in the Live Theatre/Live Performance category. MIFF nominated her for the honor. The first wave of programming includes the world premieres of “Eddie Romero Remastered: A Century of Filipino Cinema,” directed by Chuck Gutierrez and Baby Ruth Villarama, and Neal “Buboy” Tan’s fraternity thriller “Kappa-Tiran.” The documentary about Romero examines the life and career of the Philippine National Artist, whose work included English-language genre films and the historical drama “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” “Kappa-Tiran,” meanwhile, explores fraternities, sororities and the prohibited practice of hazing. Its cast includes Ejay Falcon, Sheryl Cruz, Aljur Abrenica, Patricia Javier and Bembol Roco. Also receiving a world premiere is “Pinay,” Keesa Ocampo’s documentary about the Bay Area vocal group credited with helping introduce Asian American contemporary pop music during the 1990s. The Hollywood premiere lineup includes Jerrold Tarog’s “Quezon,” the third installment in the filmmaker’s historical series following “Heneral Luna” and “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral.” Jericho Rosales portrays Manuel L. Quezon in the film, which follows his rise to the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth. Iain Glen, Karylle and Mon Confiado are also part of the cast. Other Hollywood premieres include Rick Quan’s documentary “Along Comes Larry: The Larry Ramos Story”; Randal Kamradt
and Maria Luna Kamradt’s comedy “No Room for Love”; and Patrick Epino’s “Veterano,” starring Jon Jon Briones as an aging Filipino World War II veteran undertaking a final mission in 1981 San Francisco. The Los Angeles premieres include Raymond Red’s “Manila’s Finest,” a police thriller set during the First Quarter Storm of 1970 and starring Piolo Pascual, Enrique Gil and Cedrick Juan. Benito Bautista’s documentary “The Road to Sydney” follows Philippine dance master and choreographer Sydney Loyola from Palawan to the San Francisco Bay Area as she confronts professional and personal upheaval before returning to the Philippines. MIFF will also screen a newly remastered edition of “Bebot: Generation One,” Patricio Ginelsa’s music video for the Black Eyed Peas, in recognition of its 20th anniversary. Another special presentation is Carl Joseph Papa’s “58th,” an animated documentary about the 2009 Maguindanao massacre told through the family of photojournalist Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay, whose remains were never recovered. “The first wave of this year’s lineup reflects the breadth of Filipino filmmaking today, from a major studio film inspired by Philippine folklore to independent features and documentaries exploring our history, identity and communities,” MIFF Executive Producer Lisa Lew said. Festival producer Winston Emano said audiences would also have opportunities to meet filmmakers and cast members and hear about the creative work behind the films. Festival passes provide admission to MIFF film screenings and industry panels at the TCL Chinese Theatre. They do not include the festival press conference or the Closing Night Awards Gala, which requires a separate ticket. Early-bird tickets for the gala at The Beverly Hilton on Sunday, Sept. 6, are available through Aug. 16. Individual gala tickets are priced at $250 plus fees, and group table packages are also available. Tickets, festival passes, schedules and additional information are available at ManilaInternationalFilmFest.com. Festival updates may also be followed through @manilaintlfilmfest on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube. Organizers said additional films, programs and special guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
Regine Velasquez documentary to trace 40-year career
“Songbird,” planned for theatrical release in 2027, follows the singer as she prepares for her final major solo concert. by AJPress MANILA — Regine Velasquez-Alcasid will mark four decades in music with “Songbird,” a documentary examining her career as she prepares for “FINALE,” a two-night anniversary concert in October. Planned for theatrical release in 2027, the film is produced by iMusic Entertainment in partnership with GOAT Creative Studios. Emmy Award-winning television producer Michael Carandang wrote and directed the project. The documentary will follow Velasquez-Alcasid’s preparations for “FINALE” while revisiting the achievements, sacrifices and experiences that shaped her career. Producers have not announced an exact release date, distributor, running time or list of theaters. “FINALE” is scheduled for Oct. 17 and 18 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Paolo Valenciano is the concert director, while Raul Mitra serves as musical director. The first night is a paid performance. The second was organized as a complimentary, ticketed concert for fans. Organizers said the opening show sold out within 45 minutes and more than
Photo from Facebook/@reginevelasquezalcasid
50,000 people registered for the second performance. Although “FINALE” is billed as Velasquez-Alcasid’s final major solo concert, it does not mark her retirement. Her husband, singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, has said she intends to continue performing while stepping away from solo productions of comparable scale. The anniversary count begins with her 1986 recording debut under the name Chona Velasquez. She later became one of the Philippines’ most prominent recording, concert and television performers. “Songbird” will document the work behind “FINALE” while placing the concert within the broader arc of her career.
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Wherever Alex Eala Plays, the Philippines Finds a Home Court From overflowing outer courts to roaring stadium crowds, the Filipina star is changing the atmosphere of international tennis and drawing a vast new audience into the sport. by AJPress WASHINGTON — Weeks before Alex Eala began the tournament that would deliver the biggest championship of her career, the Mubadala DC Open’s ticketing office was already seeing evidence of her unusual drawing power. Tournament chairman Mark Ein said at least 80 percent of player-schedule inquiries concerned Eala, despite a field that included Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka, Zheng Qinwen, Elina Svitolina and defending champion Leylah Fernandez. The demand offered one of the clearest measures yet of the Alex Eala phenomenon. The flags, chants and crowded viewing areas surrounding her were no longer simply expressions of national pride. Her presence was influencing ticket interest and prompting organizers to look beyond rankings when estimating attendance. Eala then gave those supporters a championship to remember. The 21-year-old recovered from a set down to defeat top-seeded Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in a rain-interrupted final. She won the last nine games to become the first player representing the Philippines to capture a WTA Tour-level singles title. The victory lifted her to a career-high No. 20, the first Top 20 ranking attained by a Filipina. Her path through Washington included victories over Olympic champion Zheng, defending champion Fernandez, Svitolina and four-time major winner Osaka. She had beaten five accomplished opponents to earn the trophy. Washington also marked a step beyond Eala’s WTA 125 championships in Guadalajara in 2025 and Birmingham in 2026. WTA 125 events are sanctioned professional tournaments but are classified separately from the main tour. Washington, a WTA 500 event, awarded four times as many ranking points and became her first main-tour singles title. The crowds, however, had followed her long before the trophy. Philippine flags often appear before Eala walks onto court. Families arrive in national colors, supporters crowd practice areas and chants of “Alex” and “Laban” can turn a tournament thousands of miles from Manila into something resembling a Philippine home event. That following has complicated a basic part of tournament planning: deciding where she should play. Early-round assignments are usually influenced by rankings, seeding, broadcast obligations and a matchup’s perceived appeal. During the earlier part of Eala’s rise, her ranking did not fully reflect the number of spectators hoping to see her. At the Australian Open, Court 6 filled for her first-round match against Alycia Parks, while many others watched on large screens around Melbourne Park. In Abu Dhabi, a heavily pro-Filipino audience watched Eala erase a 4-0 deficit in the deciding set and save a match point. In Dubai, her matches drew near-capacity and sold-out crowds dominated by Filipino supporters. Australian player Daria Saville captured the business logic in a lighthearted observation. She said that if she were directing a tournament, she would make every effort to secure Eala’s participation because Filipino supporters would come for her and remain for other matches. Some spectators arrive as Eala supporters and leave as tennis followers. Pegula has watched that transformation from across the net. Their first meeting came during Eala’s breakthrough at the 2025 Miami Open, where the overwhelmingly pro-Eala crowd surprised the American. By the time they met again in Washington, Pegula understood that the following was neither temporary nor limited to one city. During the trophy presentation, Pegula thanked Filipino
supporters for helping tennis grow around the world. Her remarks recognized that Eala was attracting families and communities that had not previously followed the professional tennis calendar closely. The enthusiasm has also entered the families of other players. American doubles specialist Desirae Krawczyk, whose mother is Filipina, said on The Player’s Box podcast that her mother had become one of Eala’s most devoted followers. “She’s crazy about Alex,” Krawczyk said. Krawczyk recalled reminding her mother that she, too, had a match on a day the older woman planned to watch Eala. At Indian Wells, her mother wanted to prepare pancit and lumpia for the Filipina star. The exchange offered a warm portrait of Eala’s appeal. Her following is expressed not only through tickets and flags but also through Filipino customs involving family, food, hospitality and pride in someone succeeding far from home. Manila gave Eala a true home tournament in 2026 when the Philippine Women’s Open debuted as a WTA 125 event at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Yet her following extends far beyond that one week. Across North America, Australia, Europe and the Middle East, established Filipino communities repeatedly transform distant tournament grounds into home courts of their own. Professional tennis is particularly suited to such a following. The tour moves through cities where large Filipino communities already live, waiting for the tournament to arrive. Eala’s results have given the phenomenon staying power. Miami showed that she could defeat elite opposition. The U.S. Open delivered a Grand Slam breakthrough. Wimbledon took her into the second week of a major. Guadalajara and Birmingham established her as a WTA 125 champion. Washington delivered her first main-tour title. The timing of the Washington ticket inquiries is important. Supporters were asking about Eala before she reached the final and before she lifted the trophy. They were not merely responding to an unexpected run. They had sought her out from the beginning. Wherever Eala plays, Philippine flags appear. Families gather. Practice courts become destinations. An outer court can begin to feel too small. She is bringing more than another young contender to professional tennis. She is bringing a worldwide community that is filling seats, discovering the sport and making itself heard. Where Alex Eala plays, the Philippines finds a home court.
Image from Facebook/@MubadalaDCOpen
Images from Facebook/@MubadalaDCOpen
LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 13
Where is the best casino outside of Las Vegas? Pechanga Resort Casino nominated in prestigious national reader's poll Pechanga Resort Casino Nominated in 2 USA Today 10 Best Casino Categories
TEMECULA, Calif. – What’s your favorite casino outside of Las Vegas? That’s what readers across the country are being asked. Pechanga Resort Casino hits the exclusive list of 20 casino/resort nominees looking to take the title of the Best Casino Outside of Las Vegas. USA Today's 10Best.com annual readers' poll, initiated today, invites fans to vote for their favorite casino outside of Las Vegas, and to vote for their favorite casino for playing slots. A panel of casino and resort experts nominated Pechanga Resort Casino for the two voting categories – Best Casino Outside of Las Vegas and Best Casino for slots. To vote, guests can simply visit Pechanga.com/ vote and cast their ballots in both categories for Pechanga Resort Casino. The nationwide competition started Monday, July 27, and runs through Monday, August 24. Pechanga Resort Casino has consistently been nominated and placed a top contender in the competition since 2015. The USA Today 10Best Travel Guide readers’ polls asking guests to rate their favorite casinos have appeared in various forms since 2015. Pechanga took the Best Casino on the West Coast title that year. Following that, the publication added other related categories such as Best Casino Restaurant. Umi Sushi & Oyster Bar at Pechanga received second place in the 2018 Best Casino Restaurant poll. To cast a vote, visit Pechanga.com/vote. Click the “Vote Now” button and you will help Pechanga Resort Casino take one step closer toward that national title. Remember to vote every day through August 24. Pechanga is also no stranger to frequent accolades. Its Great Oak Steakhouse recently won the Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator,
Photo courtesy of Pechanga Resort Casino
a distinction bestowed on only 173 restaurants in all of California. Pechanga previously picked up the Best Casino Outside of Las Vegas award by Newsweek, Best Southern California Casino by the Orange County Register, and more. About Pechanga Resort Casino Pechanga Resort Casino offers one of the largest and most expansive resort/casino experiences anywhere in the United States. Voted the best resort/ casino in America by Condé Nast Traveler and rated a Four Diamond property by AAA since 2002, Pechanga Resort Casino provides an unparalleled getaway, whether for the day or for an extended luxury stay. Offering 5,500 of the hottest slots, table games, world-class entertainment, 1,100 hotel rooms, dining, spa and championship golf at Journey at Pechanga, Pechanga Resort Casino features an unrivaled destination in California. Pechanga Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Indians. For more information, call toll free 1-888-PECHANGA or visit www.Pechanga. com. Follow Pechanga Resort Casino on Facebook, Instagram and on X @PechangaCasino. Pechanga Resort Casino is open 24 hours. Guests must be 21 and older to enter the casino. (Advertising Supplement)
14 AUGUST 8 - 14, 2026 • LOS ANGELES ASIAN JOURNAL
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